Clarinet Kid
by courage7856
Summary: Lily, dubbed "the Clarinet Kid", is in her freshman year playing her clarinet. After a semester, she is placed into the highest band at her school. But is it really all it's said to be? Collection of songfics/narratives about Lily's freshman year.
1. Snapshots from First Semester

She was, of course, just like any other freshman clarinet player entering her first semester with marching band. Her name was Lily leLontre, but she was known by many titles. The director, Mr. Locke, called her "Triple L" in reference to her initials. Other times he called her Lillian, though she insisted that was not her real name. In time, she was called the Clarinet Kid, or, to members of her section, just "the Kid".

Lily was a truly devoted player. She would practice an hour a day as a minimum. She could play every major scale and almost any minor scale asked of her. She could construct a diminished or dominant 7th chord. However, she did not consider herself to be "good" in any respect of the word. She had a long line of credentials: district band, honors band, 1st chair in her middle school band, but her only desire was to be a member of the Honors Wind Ensemble. The top band at North High School, the one she had just entered, was a remarkable group. And only the best were in it. She had been placed in the Symphonic Band, only slightly lower, but she was determined.

Lily idolized the Wind Ensemble clarinets. The first chair was Roberto. She, more than anyone else, wanted to be just like the senior. She had first heard him play at her middle school while she was a freshman, and at her high school audition, was told she had what it took to be at his level one day. She thought Mr. Locke was lying. Kristin wasn't in marching band, given that she was a cheerleader, but she was in no respects unintelligent. She was ranked 16th in her class, and was just as good at clarinet. Amanda was fierce. She didn't necessarily have the talent set of some the other clarinets, but made up for this lack with her attitude. She was not the president of the Band Staff (that was Roberto), but she acted as though she was in control. She was constantly fighting with Roberto. Neither liked the other. When Lily talked to her, she was torn between running away in fear or breaking down and crying. Keith was a slacker, but wasn't unintelligent or not talented. He spent a majority of his time coming up with puns and jokes, and could make anyone (with the exception of Mr. Locke, with whom he was often in trouble for talking) crack up. Kelsey didn't always work as hard as she could, but was a close friend of everyone in band. She was the band staff secretary, after all, and had to know everyone in order to take attendance. The youngest clarinet in the Wind Ensemble was Bailey. She was a close friend of Lily's from the year that she was in 7th grade and Bailey was in 8th. Bailey was hardly ever seen without Mary, another friend of Lily's from that year. Mary worked hard and was good enough to be in the Wind Ensemble, but for some reason was placed in the Symphonic Band with Lily. Not that she minded. Lily liked Mary a lot.

* * *

Her first day of band camp, Lily sat next to a few other freshman she knew, wanting to stay as far away from the seniors as possible. She had really wanted to sit by Bailey and her other friend Leigh, but both were talking to Roberto. She was already frustrated, because someone had put "Lillian" on her freshman nametag. She bet it was Amanda. She saw her yelling Keith for joking around too close to the drumline equipment. The band room was in total chaos. Lily had never felt so lost, but managed to pull out her music, slide her reed securely between the ligature and mouthpiece, and warm up on the fight song. She was secretly pleased that she could hit every note in the runs while most people just stop playing, or held long notes.

That afternoon, Lily had her first marching practice on the field. She, along with the other freshman, was herded onto the 30 yard line. The section leaders and other clarinets that chose to stay spread out along the group. Roberto stood right next to her. She mentally cursed him. She had avoided him all morning, given that she was scared of him. She knew he was good. But she sucked, she thought. He was going to hate her.

"So, your name's Lillian?" he asked politely, when introducing himself to the musicians on either side of him. She scowled, and cursed whoever had made that stupid tag.

"No, it's not," she growled, ripping the nametag from her shirt with more force than necessary, and stuffed it in her pocket, looking at the ground.

"Then what is your name?" he inquired, seeming confused.

"Not important," she said. If only she knew what she had started. He not only called her Lillian for the rest of the day, but for the whole marching season. Mr. Locke had decided that since Lily had what it took, she would spend as much time with him as possible. Lily marched next to Roberto through every drill. She especially disliked the ones where she had to march by him and Amanda. Each was convinced they marched right, and told her to follow them, not the other.

* * *

On the first day of school, Lily went to band 7th hour with Mary. Mary never mentioned Bailey in band. Lily wondered if she was jealous about Wind Ensemble, but never brought it up. She went to the same church as Bailey and saw her often, whereas she had hardly seen Mary in a year.

* * *

Auditions passed easily. Lily had spent the night before and her lunch period practice-cramming in the etude. When waiting outside the room, she stood with Bailey and Mary, who huddled with the Wind Ensemble clarinets (with the exception of Amanda, who never seemed to be around them).

"I have good clarinet hands," noted Kristin. Lily was not sure Kristin knew her name. Truthfully, with the exception of Kelsey, Mary, and Bailey, she wasn't sure anyone knew her name. Of course, Roberto called her Lillian.

"Yeah, you have long fingers to cover the keys," said Kelsey, holding out her own hand in comparison. A conversation developed in which the others compared hand size, and how a clarinetist's hand should look like. Lily took on look at her small hand, short, stubby fingers, and slid her hand into her pocket silently, content to simply listen.

Roberto had the guts to audition first. Every Wind Ensemble clarinet crowded around the door listening to him. "Wow," Bailey said.

"Yeah," agreed Kristin. "It's like he had practiced that sight reading section."

Finally, Lily entered the room. The older clarinets had taken turns ridiculing the freshman before her, and though she was Bailey and Megan's friend, they would make no exception. She watched them watching her through the window as the moderator introduced her as "Clarinet #8".

She took a nervous breath, and launched into her etude. She had only a month of practice with this piece, and was convinced it wasn't perfect enough. She hit every sixteenth note run, but beat herself up over not using more dynamics. The sight reading, the piece Roberto had easily played, screwed her up. She blew through it best she could, but knew she had lost points. She had convinced herself she was going to fail, and stopped playing halfway through her scales. She couldn't remember any of them.

Outside of the room, Bailey and Mary congratulated her (they were the only ones who would acknowledge her). "You're shaking," said Mary.

"I am?" she asked nervously, and drifted into the band room. She tried not to cry. How could she have done so horribly? And the scales! She had done them all at least five times that afternoon. Roberto was jumping for joy inside the instrument room. He had scored a 98 of 100, his personal best. Lily walked past and out the door of the school, not bothering to stay for her results.

* * *

The next morning, the numbers were posted in the front of Mr. Locke's office. Lily had made sure to leave early when going to school to see how she did. Mary was walking out of the band room when she showed up.

"I beat you. I got 80," she said, happy, yet not acting too stuck-up. Lily knew Mary beat her. She had aced her scales.

"How did I do?" she asked. Mary shrugged and left with a non-band friend, so Lily walked up to the office. She started at the bottom of the list, and traced names with her finger, working her way up the list. She was extremely close to the top, she was surprised to see. The list read:

6. . . .78 . . .Triple L

She was the top-scoring freshman, and sixth scoring overall. Other than Mary, the top scorers were all in Wind Ensemble: Roberto, Bailey, Kristin, and Keith, who tied with Mary. Kelsey was right below Lily, and Amanda was a few spots below. Lily almost passed out. She ran out the band room as fast as she could, and promptly ran into Mr. Locke.

"Congratulations, Ms. leLontre," he said. She was already upset. Lily had a tendency to get very worked up over certain things. She would argue with Mr. Locke over anything. By the end of the year, she was quite sure he was sick of her.

"Mr. Locke, you screwed up the scores. I couldn't have scored anywhere near that high. Maybe you mixed me up with someone. I don't know, but I can't sit 2nd chair. I'm not good enough," she said, extremely flustered.

"No, there was no mistake in the scores," assured Mr. Locke. "That was accurate. You definitely deserved your score. I remember your audition very well. I could see you shaking behind the curtain." Lily blushed. "This afternoon, you will sit 2nd chair, 1st assistant, behind Mary."

"Um, thank you, Mr. Locke," Lily managed before bolting to math. "See you this afternoon.

* * *

At the Homecoming pep rally, Lily heard some interesting gossip. It was a stormy day (it had rained for every football game, so this was nothing new), and she was crammed into the gym with Bailey, Mary, and Leigh, a concert band sophomore that she liked a lot.

"So, Lily, are you excited about Wind Ensemble?" asked Bailey. Lily abruptly turned her head in question. What was she talking about? Their concert in December? That was two months away.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. Bailey must be confused, she decided. However, Leigh and Mary seemed to understand her. Was there some kind of event she didn't know about?

"Next semester. Didn't Mr. Locke tell you?" asked Bailey. Lily shook her head anxiously, wanting to know what everyone else clearly did. "He doesn't really tell me anything except to go home and practice. What is it?" Bailey and Mary exchanged looks.

"You're going up to Wind Ensemble next semester. You and Mary. Mr. Locke's changing your schedule," Bailey explained. Lily shook her head.

"That can't be. You must be confused. I'm nowhere near being good enough. Mary is, and I'm not surprised she's moving up. But me? I'm just a freshman, and not a good one at that. I'm not saying you're lying, but you're wrong. I'm not going to Wind Ensemble for at least two years."

* * *

Mr. Locke had a surprise for Lily, on a Monday in mid-November. One day, before band, he called Mary and Lily to talk to him. Lily immediately put her hands over her head.

"Whatever it was, I didn't do it!" she proclaimed. Mr. Locke laughed.

"No, you most definitely did, Triple L. You and Mary are being moved to Wind Ensemble next semester. I'm a clarinet or two short, and you both have what it takes. I'm changing your schedules for next semester with guidance right now. Congratulations."

He walked away to conduct the band, and Mary gave Lily a look that very clearly said "we told you so."

"Mr. Locke?" asked Lily hesitantly walking into his office one afternoon in December. "I need to talk to you about this Wind Ensemble thing. I'm not good enough I can't do it."

"Ms. leLontre, you are most definitely good enough to be in the Wind Ensemble. Do you think the music we play in Symphonic Band is easy?" he asked. Lily bit her lip, and reluctantly nodded. Indeed, it had not taken much practice to learn the songs by memory and play them flawlessly.

"You are very good, Lily. And besides, you should be focused on getting better. The best way for that to happen is to be with people who are as good as, or better than you. You will feel pressured into playing at their level. Trust me, I've been doing this for years," he said. Lily wasn't convinced. "Surely you notice Roberto? He's a senior, and has the experience to teach you." Back on Roberto again. Lily took a surreptitious look into the band room to see if he was there, which he often was, except for today. "You need to learn from those who are older than you. You just took your second audition, and scored an 85." Lily nodded. She hadn't screwed up her scales this time. "He only has one year left. Use it wisely."

"But, Mr. Locke, they're still all better than me, no matter what the audition results are. They're going to hate me." Mr. Locke laughed.

"No, Triple L, they are most definitely not going to hate you. And trust me- you are better than most. Just go with it. Your schedule has been changed. And you're moving up with Mary. Trust me. Everything next semester will be wonderful. You'll love Wind Ensemble."

* * *

AN: This is my first fic, and will alternate between mini-songfics and narratives. Please review, but no flames please! Yes, I am a band geek, and I do play clarinet. However, Lily is not really based off of me, and with don't share many experiences. Many things in here are based off true band events however. I'll try to update every couple of days. This Chapter was Lily's whole first semester, and the fic will cover her freshman year. That means the rest of the story will happen in second semester. Excited to see what the wonderful Wind Ensemble is like? Sorry to be so long-winded. Next time I'll be shorter!


	2. The New Kid Drill

Lily did not want to go to school on Monday. She knew what was waiting for her third period. She remembered how much she had wanted to be in Wind Ensemble. She couldn't believe how wrong she had been. Her day first had two periods of science, but afterwards, she would have to go to band. She sighed as she picked up her clarinet and walked towards the school.

Third hour, she stumbled into the band room. The calamity in Wind Ensemble was worse than in Symphonic Band, though they had more members. Lily quietly walked into the instrument room and pulled her clarinet out of her cubby. Kelsey, Bailey, and Roberto were already laughing and joking around with a couple French horn players. They didn't seem to notice her. She gulped, and walked out into the fray.

Since she was not quite sure where she was supposed to sit, she stood against a side wall. She could see everyone, but was almost invisible. Amanda was the only one who saw her, and called her over.

"You can just sit where there's a third part," she said. Lily wasn't sure if that was right, but she figured she could always blame Amanda if she was wrong. She walked into the second row, and opened each folder until she saw one with Clarinet 3 written across the top of the music. She immediately sat down, and opened her clarinet case.

"You look intimidated," Amanda noticed. She was the only other clarinet sitting down. Lily looked at her hands where she had been putting her upper and lower joints together. Darn. She was shaking.

"I'm not scared," she said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "Just a little nervous." Her voice came out as little above a whisper. Amanda shrugged.

Mr. Locke walked out of his office, about five minutes after the bell rang. "All right, children, settle down. The break is over. Time to get down to business." He walked over to the clarinet section. "New seating assignments," he said. "These are just temporary, as we start part-switching soon." This was a tradition where a new seating chart would be made, one with different people playing different parts each song. It gave everyone a chance to play first, as well as a chance to play third. Lily hoped she was exempt. "First principle: Roberto. First assistant is Mary." Both scrambled to their seats in the front row. "Second part: Kristin, Amanda, and Bailey. You had a three-way tie at 88 points each. Sit where you please." 3 points! Lily thought. They had only scored three points higher than her at the audition. "Third principle: Triple L. Assistant is Keith, and Kelsey is also on third. Principles, remember you are leaders. Know your parts; you set an example." Lily's mouth dropped open. She was a principle. He couldn't honestly be expecting her to lead, could he? He walked away to seat the flutes before she could ask.

Lily sat down where she had originally sat, the first third folder she had seen. Kristin was on one side of her, Keith was on the other. As far as she could tell, she would not have to share the folder with anyone. She liked that. It meant she could maintain as much anonymity as she wanted. Keith turned to face her.

"Hi, I'm Keith. What's your name?" he asked in an exaggerated fashion, holding out a hand for her to shake. She ignored the gesture.

"I'm, um, Lily," she said quietly. Kevin put up a hand to his ear.

"Lila, did you say?" he asked. She shook her head. "No. Lily." Keith nodded like he understood, and went back to talking with Kelsey.

"Children, children," shouted Mr. Locke. Suddenly, all unrest in the band room came to a stop, and everyone turned towards the director, including Lily. He rattled off a list of announcements: No jazz practice that Thursday, County Honors Band audition dates, and a new teacher for low brass lessons during the school day. It seemed as though he would start playing music, but a baritone player stopped him.

"What about the newbies?" he shouted. Everyone else agreed. Where were those unfortunate enough to join the band halfway through the year?

"Oh, yes, the newbies!" Mr. Locke remembered. He ran through the list. Two freshmen: a baritone, and an oboe. No one was surprised; there was only one other oboe, and no baritones had been in the band at the beginning of the year. There was also a trumpet sophomore. And then, the clarinets. "We have," Mr. Locke introduced, "Mary! Bailey's other half." Most of the band, including Lily, laughed. The two were hardly ever apart, and were generally viewed as a unit, one person instead of two. "And as a freshman, Ms. leLontre, Triple L!" The band erupted into catcalls and whooping for the five rookies. Lily looked at her feet, glancing at the two next to her. Kristin was studying her carefully. Keith was involved in a conversation with Kelsey.

The rest of band proceeded uneventfully. To her surprise, Lily discovered she could read the three pieces that were played without much difficulty. Each would need a few hours practice, but she felt comfortable with them. That wasn't what bothered her though.

No one acknowledged her the rest of rehearsal. Wind Ensemble wasn't as perfect as it seemed. Everyone was talented, but very few seemed to take band seriously. It was more of a social event in there; a party every third hour. She had been completely ignored, and felt it when she heard everyone else talking during stops.

After band, Lily approached Mr. Locke. She made a decision. "Mr. Locke, do I have to be in Wind Ensemble?" she begged. She hated it already. She was right: no one liked her, and everyone was better than her.

"Lily, Lily," he laughed. "It's only your first day. Give Wind Ensemble a chance. You'll love it," he guaranteed. She studied him cautiously, but nodded before going to Spanish.

The next day was worse. No one talked to her at all.

Her second day was also a basketball game. When she got to school for the Pep Band, she hunted down Mr. Locke in his office. "Mr. Locke, do I _really_ have to be in Wind Ensemble?" she begged again. He sighed when he realized she was serious.

"Lily, I know you can handle it. You can play the music, right?" she nodded reluctantly. "Playing with the seniors like Roberto is only going to make you better. You would more important as the last chair in the highest band than the highest chair in Symphonic. And besides, we'll be switching around as soon as I make a seating chart. I can't force you to stay, but I would at least encourage you to try it." She shook her head.

"That's not everything though. They hate me! All of them! No one even talks to me. Keith asked my name, and Amanda told me I looked intimidated. I told you they didn't want me there."

"Lillian, they do too like you. They just need to get used to you. And don't let Amanda boss you around- she can be hard to handle. Give it a try. And then, if you're still not happy, you can move back. Most kids adjust, but some don't feel Wind Ensemble is for them. But first, give it a chance." Lily nodded eagerly. She could get out!

"Thank you, Mr. Locke!" she said, and raced out of his office to tell the news to her freshmen clarinet friends, the ones she had left behind. They would be happy to hear that. "Hey, guys! Locke said I could go back to Symphonic Band if I really wanted!"

* * *

AN: So, Lily's first day in Wind Ensemble! Poor Lily. It will get better for her, I promise. It just might take a while. Again, please review. Next Chapter: a songfic showing short sections of the first part of Wind Ensemble. This one's a little shorter, but I will make them longer.


	3. Don't Laugh at Me

_I'm a little boy with glasses  
The one they call the geek_

"She's in my math class, even though she's a year younger than me," Mary said. Lily listened closer, pretending to be warming up."Is she smart?" Kelsey asked, glancing back to her.

"I think so," Bailey said. "She always used to do Mary's homework in middle school, just because she could." Lily smiled to herself, remembering how easy Mary's algebra was compared to hers.

"But even if she is, that doesn't mean she can just be in Wind Ensemble," Kelsey replied. Mary and Bailey nodded in unison. Lily gulped.

_A little girl who never smiles  
'Cause I've got braces on my teeth_

Lily had a loose tooth. She knew she was a freshman in high school, but her mouth apparently didn't. It was embarrassing. She had lost a tooth in biology the previous semester, but vowed not to let it happen in a certain class this year. If she lost a tooth in band, she would never ever be able to go back. But she didn't have control over that.

Mr. Locke stopped in the middle of a song abruptly, and Lily took her clarinet out of her mouth, hitting her jaw with the mouthpiece. She lifted her hand to her mouth, and tasted blood. When she reached into her mouth, a tooth fell into her hand. Oops. She looked around to see if anyone noticed. No one had. She raised her hand, and the other clarinets watched her closely. Mr. Locke didn't call on her, and in fact, didn't seem to see her at all. She was in the middle of a tall oboe and a really tall french horn. "What happened?" Keith asked, showing minor concern. He was easily nicer to her than anyone else in the room.

"My tooth fell out," she explained. Bailey, Kristin, Amanda, and Kelsey all tried not to laugh.

"Aren't you a little old to be losing teeth?" he wondered. Lily shrugged, and ran her tongue over the opening in her mouth. Mr. Locke started the piece again after a short section with the brass. Lily sighed, put her hand down, and set her tooth on the stand to play again. At the next break, she raised her hand again, and sat up as straight as she could.

"Just go," whispered Amanda. Lily shook her head. That was against the rules, and while Amanda might be able to get away with it because she bossed everyone around, Lily definitely couldn't. It was then that Mr. Locke saw her. "Ms. leLontre?"

"May I please go to the bathroom?" she asked. Mr. Locke only stared, and she knew she had to say why. "My tooth fell out." The director gave her one of the most critical looks she'd ever seen, and a few people laughed.

"They grow up so fast!" said Keith, and even Lily had to smile with everyone else. Mr. Locke nodded, and she got up and walked towards the band room door. "I didn't know she was that young," she heard Roberto say. "Is she even old enough to be in Wind Ensemble?" Lily's face fell as she walked out of the room. She was very careful in the future to not let the gap in her mouth show.

_And I know how it feels  
To cry myself to sleep_

Lily was having a hard day. Mr. Locke had just cut the song she'd played first in, and then decided to play a hard song. Lily was playing second between Roberto, who was having a bad day, and Kelsey, who wasn't speaking to him. She had also missed one question in her biology test the period before, and was convinced she could have done better. By the time she started playing, she was shaking.

She shared the stand with Roberto, who seemed to get angry and glare at her every couple of minutes. A few times, he stopped, leaving her to cover most of the part (Kelsey didn't play that much). Lily was trying not to cry. She vowed that they would never make her cry.

That night, she took home the same song. After a very tough practice with it, she switched to her method book, only to become more frustrated. She started crying. She would never be good enough, she thought. She wanted to quit band.

_I'm that kid on every playground__  
Who's always chosen last_

"So, Kristin was telling me that she didn't think it was fair that Bailey got to play the solo in this song, because they got the same score, but she has seniority," Kelsey explained to Roberto, who nodded.

"Seniority is important. That's why I get to play first so much. Bailey mostly relies on her talent anyway. She doesn't work unless it's for a score. But then again, Kristin doesn't either." Kelsey agreed. "We should base everything on seniority. People who are the oldest or where in Wind Ensemble longest are the ones we care about."

Just then, both seemed to notice the freshman who had only been in Wind Ensemble a month sitting in the middle of them.

_A single teenage mother  
Tryin' to overcome my past  
You don't have to be my friend  
But is it too much to ask?_

"You don't have to talk to me," Roberto said on the morning of her first day in Wind Ensemble. She looked up at him, and nodded. What did he mean? Was she supposed to talk to him? Or did that mean he hated her?

_Don't laugh at me  
Don't call me names__  
Don't get your pleasure from my pain  
In God's eyes we're all the same  
Someday we'll all have perfect wings  
Don't laugh at me_

One particular lunchtime, Lily walked into the band room, just like any other day, so she could get her clarinet and practice. Normally, it was abandoned fifth period, except for the few stragglers from fourth hour, the choir kids who kept their lunches in their cubbies, and her friends in the hall eating lunch. Today, however, there was noise. She could hear people from outside the door. She pushed through anyway and didn't really care.

"And speaking of 'Little Miss Nervous', here she is," proclaimed Mr. Locke. Lily stopped at the top of the ramp leading down into the room and stared warily. Roberto and Mr. Locke were next to the computer by the podium, talking about, it appeared, her.

"We were discussing Benny Goodman," explained Roberto, "We didn't know you'd be coming in."

"I'm not that nervous! And I come in here every day and do the same thing. You should know that by now." Lily stomped down the ramp past both of them, and went into the instrument room to get her clarinet, making as much noise as possible. When she came back out, they were both there.

"Lily, you should see yourself in band. You are an intimidated freshman. That's all there is to it," Mr. Locke said. Lily rolled his eyes.

"You told my mom I was scared to death. And you told the entire Wind Ensemble last semester that I was terrified," she argued back.

"I told Roberto you were nervous," he justified.

"Then why did Suzanne hear that on the other side of the room? I do fine on my own without you making fun of me." Lily, pretty pissed at both, turned around, walked and grabbed two folders from the slots in the back of the room, and straight out into the hallway to go practice.

_I'm the cripple on the corner  
You've passed me on the street  
And I wouldn't be out here beggin'  
If I had enough to eat  
And don't think I don't notice  
That our eyes never meet_

Lily found it surprising that Mary and Bailey didn't talk to her anymore. They used to be close, but she guessed things had changed. One day, Bailey called out to talk to her. She smiled, happy, until she found out what Bailey wanted.

"I know you play with Roberto on a lot of songs. But can I play first in this one today? We don't play any songs together this semester. I kind of miss it. So, can I play first?" Bailey played third in the song in question. Roberto looked at her like he wanted to do that, too.

"Sure," Lily said, shrugging and moving into the second row. No one even noticed the switch.

_I lost my wife and little boy when  
Someone cross that yellow line  
The day we laid them in the ground  
Is the day I lost my mind  
And right now I'm down to holdin'  
This little cardboard sign...so_

_Don't laugh at me  
Don't call me names  
Don't get your pleasure from my pain  
In God's eyes we're all the same  
Someday we'll all have perfect wings  
Don't laugh at me_

The program was put up for the first concert so people could check spelling in their names. Lily saw the program right away when she entered the band room. She quickly scanned the clarinet section. Her name was missing. 1, 2, 3. . .7 names. There were 8 clarinets.

When she sat down, Mr. Locke asked if there were any problems with the names on the program. Lily raised her hand, as well as a few others. Most students just had spelling errors, and one or two wanted their names to be different on the program. Mr. Locke called on Lily.

"My name's not on the program. And I know I'm not very good, but I should at least get credit for showing up every day." Indeed, Lily was the only clarinet who hadn't missed a day of band all semester.

"We forgot about you?" someone laughed. Everyone thought it was funny, the little clarinet was left off the program. Mr. Locke assured Lily he would go back and put her name on, but she really didn't care anymore. She was as much a part of this band as everyone else.

_I'm fat, I'm thin, I'm short, I'm tall  
I'm deaf, I'm blind, hey, aren't we all_

_Don't laugh at me  
Don't call me names  
Don't get your pleasure from my pain  
In God's eyes we're all the same  
Someday we'll all have perfect wings  
Don't laugh at me'_

In a certain song, Roberto and Lily played the first part. Roberto, however, was notorious for skipping rehearsals and getting away with it. This particular song was essentially a clarinet solo, as it was a medley of Benny Goodman songs. When Roberto was there, he shone, but when he wasn't (which was more often than not), Lily struggled through the solos. She knew the Jazz Band members were frustrated with her. A trumpet senior named Corey had been particularly harsh on the drummer, though thankfully cut Lily slack because of her age. One day, though, the morning of the concert, Roberto was there.

Lily liked her seat in the second row the best. She didn't have to share a stand, and could see everyone while being anonymous herself.

"Lily, come here," called Roberto. He wanted to warm up. She reluctantly stood up from her seat to sit down next to him. She didn't look at him. She hated this song because she was constantly being put under pressure from Mr. Locke in the solos, which weren't even hers. He noticed she was avoiding him.

"What, are you scared of me or something?" he asked, laughing. It wasn't a pleasant laugh. Kelsey, Mary, Bailey, and Kristin followed suit. Lily bit her lip and tried not to cry.

* * *

AN: Yeah, I know some parts were stupid. I couldn't always make the lyrics fit like I wanted. But I will admit I've lost a tooth in band.


	4. Everything You Ever Wanted

_I walk the line  
Leave it all behind  
I've been waiting forever  
Lets go back in time  
When I could read your mind  
Still I've been waiting_

To be part of the clarinet section, it was implied to Lily that she had to stick with her section, no matter what. She had to vote for members of her section in types of elections, and had to stick up for her section whenever there was a problem. Lily decided that this meant the other clarinets had to be nice to her. She liked this, and decided to call it "sectional obligation." It also meant, she thought, she had to hang out with her section at band stuff.

At the pep band games (Lily attended them all, even the non-required ones, even when she arrived straight from Science Olympiad after being awake since 5), Lily hung out with her section. They didn't talk to her. She more followed them around, like Lily did to Bailey and Mary during marching. She thought she was supposed to.

At one game, the other clarinets managed to give her the split. She caught them all huddling by a doorway and pointing at her occasionally. She turned away, and tried to find her other friends. They had all gone with other people because they thought she was hanging out with her section. She kind of just faked it, but was really lonely. Was she not good enough at the music? She had, after all, hadn't played it often because she was a freshman.

She learned that spring that sectional obligation didn't exist. Members of the other sections thought that it was a crime to demand such loyalty.

_It took the seasons going by  
To know its not my fault_

Amanda never kept "her" folder with the others, where they were supposed to be. Theoretically, it wasn't hers because she shared it with Bailey. During seating charts, when people played different parts, she rarely had it. Nevertheless, she kept it with her stuff. Lily was actually the one who used that particular folder the most. Unfortunately, Amanda was also the one who scared her the most. A few days before the second concert, she decided to mark the music. Without writing, there was some stuff she would never hit, like a difficult rhythm in a military song. That day at lunch, she went into the band room after practicing to put her stuff away before gym. As she walked in, Amanda walked out.

"Amanda!" she called. The senior turned around, and Lily continued. "Can I borrow your folder to mark music, please? I'll put it right back where I found it, and I'll keep the music in order," she promised, and gulped. Amanda sighed, as though she was terribly inconvenienced.

"I guess," she said. "But put it back exactly where you found it. Got it?" Lily nodded immediately, and muttered words of thanks. She ran to the back of the room to get the folder, and then straight back out.

Lily was quick, so the folder was back exactly where she found it before the school day was even over. Afterward, she went to talk to Kelsey and Bailey who were waiting in the band room for a ride from Kelsey's older brother.

"You look kind of scared, and you keep looking at the door like someone's going to jump out. Are you okay, kid?" asked Kelsey.

"Amanda," Lily said. "Amanda's mad at me."

"What did you do to her?" asked Kelsey.

"I wanted to have the folder to mark the music for the concert and when I asked her she got mad but she didn't say I couldn't so I did it this afternoon in class and I put it back but she's still going to be really mad at me anyway," explained Lily in one giant breath. Bailey laughed, though somewhat angrily.

"Do not let her boss you around," ordered Kelsey. "That's not even her folder. It's Bailey's, too. Don't worry about her. She's just a- well, let's keep it under PG-13." (I'm fifteen! Lily argued). "She just has control issues. It's not your fault." For the first time, Lily actually kind of believed her.

_I tried to be perfect, tried to be honest  
Tried to be everything that you ever wanted  
I tried to be stronger, tried to be smarter  
Tried to be everything but you_

If it was lunchtime or second hour on some days (sometimes even sixth, if Mr. Locke could write her out of gym), Lily was in the band room, locked in a practice room, playing her clarinet. Everyone who frequented the band room during those hours was pretty much used to her. Every day, she walked into the band room, strolled down the ramp into the instrument room, pulled out her clarinet (even if the lights were off- she just knew where her clarinet was), walked back up, pulled a folder or two out of the slots after checking them, and left the room just as quickly as she had entered. It happened at least once, usually twice a day.

It was lonely in the practice rooms. Fifth hour, she could hear her friends conversing and joking without her sometimes. Sixth hour had a group that met in the hall for lunch too. Lily knew that only the strictest discipline would help her succeed. That's what it would take for her to be good. She needed to be good enough for the other clarinets to like her._  
_

_Its been so long  
Since you've been home  
I used to wait up forever  
I used to say a prayer  
Wishing you were there  
And I'm still waiting_

Lily was hanging out with her flautist friend Suzanne at the concert of the other two bands. She saw Kelsey come in and greet Suzanne, but didn't seem to notice her. "I don't think she likes me very much," Lily said.

"Why do you think that?" Suzanne asked. She and Lily had talked a lot about Wind Ensemble before she started. One day in the locker room, Lily walked in and asked her if Wind Ensemble was scary. Lily wanted to know because she asked Bailey, but she had kind of shrugged off the question. That hadn't given Lily a lot of confidence. Suzanne had a great experience in her first semester, and thought that it was too band Lily hadn't gotten the same friendly experience.

"She doesn't talk to me. And I bet she won't sit by us either. She would if it was just you, but not for me." She was right. The two ended up sitting by a group of flutes, and some other sophomores, none of whom played clarinet.

_You told me once  
You'd show up  
But I fell for that  
Before I fell to pieces  
Then I woke up  
To no one,  
Just a picture of Jesus  
And a house left in pieces_

_It took the seasons going by  
To know its not my fault_

In order to practice for Solo and Ensemble, all 10 clarinets (including bass and contrabass) would cram into practice room C. They were set up like a traditional clarinet choir, with one group on one side, altos and bass in the middle, and one group on the other side. Amanda and Kristin played alto clarinet for the occasion, while Roberto, Bailey, and Keith played one part and Kesley, Lily, and Mary played the other.

Practicing with that many people was frustrating. Since Roberto and Lily were the only ones to take time and practice their parts outside of rehearsals, things went slow. They stopped an average of every 5 measures to compare parts and work out fingerings. This day, Roberto had come in late, and no one with the exception of Amanda and Lily had wanted to start without him.

"You guys, let's start at measure 50. You three," he said, indicating Kelsey, Lily, and Mary, "have the part where you take turns playing the melody. You do that, then we come together, and all six of us do the flip-flop thing. You got it?" Lily nodded, but Mary didn't respond, and Kelsey just picked up her clarinet. About halfway through the first section, where they took turns carrying the melody, Mary and Kelsey got up and left. Lily watched them tentatively, but not brave enough to follow. She continued to play her little piece, which sounding empty with the spaces Mary and Kelsey were supposed to occupy. Finally, Roberto stopped her.

"Where did they go?" he yelled, making Bailey jump. Lily shrugged. "The bathroom?" He put his head in his hands.

"Well, you did good anyway. Why did they do that? Cause you guys screwed up?" Lily bit her lip, and nodded. "I'm sorry." He shook his head. "It's not your fault. They've stopped playing with you three times today. This has got to stop." When they came back, Roberto gave both a lecture. "You've got to stay with Lily. She's the only reason your part doesn't suck."

_I tried to be perfect, tried to be honest  
Tried to be everything that you ever wanted  
I tried to be stronger, tried to be smarter  
Tried to be everything but you_

On a morning about a week before her second concert, Mr. Locke had disappeared second hour, probably with the percussionists. She went to a practice room like normal, but only B and C were unlocked. Corey, a trumpet player, was in B, leaving C for her. Lily frowned. She hated room C. It was huge- way to big for one midget clarinet player. But she really didn't feel like hunting down Mr. Locke, so she went inside, and turned on a light. She set up a chair, and pulled a stand from the rack in the cluttered room. When she sat down to assemble her clarinet, she was turned away from the door.

In the middle of a Tchaikovsky song, Lily got frustrated while playing a run. She put her clarinet down to mark something, and rested her head on the stand for a second. A voice came from behind her.

"What are you practicing?" Lily was so surprised, she jumped a foot. She rapidly turned her head to the side, and saw it was only Roberto, who she assumed had walked in while she was playing.

"Just a song. The Tchaikovsky one." He nodded. "I also practiced the other songs I play second in." Robert nodded again. He knew that the only other two songs she played second in were songs he played second with her.

"Well, let's go. We don't want to be late for band. Lily got up, and followed him to the band room. They were practicing on the stage that day, but the bell wasn't going to ring for at least five minutes. Lily dropped her bag and case on the floor in the band room, then went to get the rest of the folders. It was something she did every day for convenience for the other clarinets. Roberto usually got the credit. "Here," he said, dropping the folders into her arms. She stumbled a second, and a trombone who had just walked into the room laughed. Since she had the bass clarinet folders as well, she was carrying seven. Roberto walked down the hall into the stage, Lily scrambling behind him.

_I wanted you  
I need you  
I want to believe you  
I wanted you  
I need you  
I want to believe you_

The day before the second concert, Roberto caught her practicing during her lunch period. Again. Even though she was playing, she could still hear him.

"Is that Lily in there?" he asked. She heard a couple of her friends confirm in the hall. A senior percussionist, a freshman saxophone, and a sophomore French horn. "She's the only clarinet I've got that practices. She might be the best soon." Lily smiled and didn't even try to contain it. If she could believe him, that would be the best thing she'd heard since joining Wind Ensemble.

_I tried to be perfect, tried to be honest  
Tried to be everything that you ever wanted  
I tried to be stronger, tried to be smarter  
Tried to be everything but you_

During one of Lily's hard days, she just couldn't get a certain rhythm in a certain section of a certain military song. She could sense Roberto's frustration. He was trying to get her on the beat while playing by bobbing on the beat. She tried to get it. She really did. She just couldn't figure it out.

That afternoon at lunch, a percussionist (ranked #1 in the state) had come in to her practice room. He listened to her playing the section a few times. "You're not playing it right," he said. "You have the rhythm all weird."

"I know!" Lily said. She was frustrated and wouldn't listen. "Roberto's been mad at me all morning. I won't get it, I'll screw up at the concert, and everyone will know." The percussionist left quickly, hands up in the air.

* * *

AN: It took a while to update. I feel bad. Again, please review. This story just got favorited (is that even a word?), so I feel obligated to update. I know not all the lyrics fit. I tried.


	5. The Middle

_Hey, don't write yourself off yet__  
It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on_

Amanda had a nickname. Lily learned this when Bailey and Kristin first came into band one day. "Is TBA here?" asked Bailey. Kristin shook her head. "I don't think so," she replied. Lily was feeling a little more comfortable around Kristin, so she decided to ask.

"Who's TBA?" she asked hesitantly.

"You don't need to know," said Kristin. Bailey laughed and nodded. So Lily turned to Kelsey.

"Do you know who TBA is?" Kelsey laughed, and nodded. "Who is it?"

"I can't tell you," she said. Lily was frustrated. "Where'd you hear about TBA?" Lily pointed to Bailey and Kristin, who had moved on. Keith walked in and sat down between them.

"Keith, do you know who TBA is?" she asked immediately. "They all know, but they won't tell me." She figured if anyone would give her sympathy, it would be Keith.

"Well, I can tell you, but not until you're thirty-two," he said. Lily's mouth dropped open. "Thirty-two?"

"You see, that's age appropriate material, kid. I just can't go sharing things you're not old enough to know about." He turned to Kelsey, and started talking to her. "How does she know about TBA in the first place?"

A few months later, she asked Bailey at a math decathlon meet. "Keith says he won't tell me until I'm thirty-two. I'm not old enough." It took a while, but Bailey admitted who it was.

"It's Amanda. We call her that for 'That bitch Amanda'." Lily wondered if maybe she shouldn't have asked.

_Just try your best, try everything you can  
And don't you worry what they tell themselves when you're away._

"Lily has the folder," she heard Kristin say. Wait. Lily? Mr. Locke called her Lillian. Which meant that wasn't how Kristin learned her name. Everyone called her "Lillian, Triple L, or the Clarinet Kid. Lily didn't talk to Kristin. Which meant that they talked about her. Behind her back.

_It just takes some time  
Little girl you're in the middle of the ride  
Everything, everything will be just fine  
Everything, everything will be alright, alright._

"Excuse me," Lily said. It was after school, and she had gone to the instrument room to get her clarinet out of her cubby. Her parents weren't home, so she had to walk there before her sister's bus arrived. But first, she needed Roberto and Kelsey to stop trading gum from in front of the cubbies so she could get her instrument.

"Oh, sorry, Lily," Roberto apologized, moving to the side so Lily could get her clarinet. She didn't. She stared at him, and he looked back, confused.

"You got my name right." He still didn't appear to understand, so she clarified. "Amanda can't get my name right. And now almost everyone knows my name!"

"Amanda?" Lily nodded. She knew the two hated each other, and hadn't meant to bring her up.

"I thought she would get my name right first, because we're in the math decathlon together. But she doesn't know it." Roberto laughed.

"Points, kid. Ten-thousand points. Don't listen to Amanda. She's not in math decathlon. She's just fooling you." Lily nodded hesitantly. She'd gained Roberto's approval, but at Amanda's expense.

"Yeah, well, Amanda's a-" Kelsey cut off. "Never mind. I don't need to finish that sentence. Don't worry about her, Lily. You're better off without her." Lily nodded again. She was starting to feel uncomfortable with them bashing Amanda, so she left quickly. At least, she thought, she had made progress.

The next day, Roberto told the rest of the clarinets about the incident in the instrument room. Bailey laughed, and Kristin smiled admiringly. Lily grinned, but only for a second.

_Hey, you know they're all the same__  
You know you're doing better on your own, so don't buy in.  
Live right now, yeah, just be yourself  
It doesn't matter if it's good enough for someone else._

For her second concert in the Wind Ensemble, Lily played first on a piece with Roberto- again. This one was hard. Mr. Locke said it was only tricky, but he had clearly never played first clarinet. There were more ledger lines on some notes than there were in the staff itself. The first day she played the song, she hadn't had a chance to practice it yet. She was purely sight-reading.

One particularly hard section had many sixteenth-note runs in the altissimo register. She hit the first few, but soon started to slip. An eight measure section of rest followed.

"You're going to need to practice that- it's pretty tough," Roberto whispered to her. She felt her cheeks turn red.

"I tried to play it," she justified. He nodded, and shot a glance into the second row. "At least you tried." Lily wasn't sure who he was looking at, but didn't want to ask.

Later in that song, there was another hard section. While she still hadn't played it, Lily winged it and did quite well. Roberto screwed up and stopped playing. She smiled to herself. He'd even had time to practice the part. He didn't mention it, so she took her little moment of victory in doing something right.

_It just takes some time  
Little girl you're in the middle of the ride  
Everything, everything will be just fine  
Everything, everything will be alright, alright._

Lily walked in before school to put her clarinet away. "Now Phil," she heard Mr. Locke saying, "never did anything with his talent. He went into German instead." Mr. Locke was talking to Roberto when she walked in. They were discussing old players, ones who had graduated before Lily's time. "Oh, look, Ms. leLontre."

"I didn't do it!" Lily insisted, raising her hands above her head (quite awkward when one was holding a clarinet).

"Of course, you did," Mr. Locke assured her. "The most important thing is to love your instrument, love what you do," he continued. "Now Lily, I'm sure you love your clarinet."

"You better," Roberto muttered, glaring at her. It was a warning. Either you do it perfect in my band, or you leave.

"I do," Lily assured him. I'll do it. I'll prove it. You can't get rid of me that easy.

_Hey, don't write yourself off yet  
It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on  
Just do your best, do everything you can  
And don't you worry what the bitter hearts are gonna say._

Whenever Lily did something, she wondered what the people in Wind Ensemble would say. One day, she decided to not be scared or care about what they said. So she wore a tie to school, with a yellow shirt. When she got to band, Roberto was there wearing a yellow shirt as well. He laughed when he saw her. "Okay, what's the tie for, Triple L?"

"No reason," she said. "I just wanted to wear it. He thought it was funny. What had she been so worried about. Inez, an oboe freshman and close friend of Lily's, laughed. "You match!" Lily and Roberto looked at each other, and each smiled a little.

"I wore my shirt to match my shoes," he said, and looked at his feet.

"I wore my shirt to match my tie," Lily whispered. Inez laughed, and Roberto looked at them like they had lost it.

_It just takes some time  
Little girl you're in the middle of the ride  
Everything, everything will be just fine  
Everything, everything will be alright, alright.

* * *

_AN: Sorry this upload took so long! So, maybe things are getting better for little Lily? I was going to put this up later, but I decided to go earlier instead. I've had internet and FF issues. Well, this will be the last songfic for a while. Next up: Lily's first concert! What could happen? Oh the possibilities are endless. Review please, and I'll update faster._  
_


	6. The First Wind Ensemble Concert

"I'm not going to the concert!" Lily insisted before rehearsal started.

"Yes, you will," Mr. Locke ordered. "And that's final!" Lily glared. She wasn't going to the concert, her first in Wind Ensemble, because she wasn't good enough. She couldn't play the songs well enough. She did not want to go to this concert at all. She stomped to her seat angrily.

* * *

"Mr. Locke?" Lily asked, after school. She had to go to the band room quickly. She had one small thing to take care of before the concert, but Roberto and Amanda were there. That was all the convincing she needed to make it quick. Even more, the song she had the question about was the one where she sat between them. "I have a question. . .about the music."

"Well, go ahead," he said, turning around to face her. "No music question is stupid except the one that isn't asked."

"It's this measure here," Lily said, pointing to a certain bar. "The note is at the position of a C, but there are only enough ledger lines for it to be an A. I'm pretty sure everyone plays the C, but the A would sound right there, too," she explained nervously. Mr. Locke studied it carefully.

"You're right," he said. "That should be a C." He grabbed a pen, and drew in a ledger line. "That's pretty sharp. Good eye for noticing that. Roberto, Amanda, Bailey, and Kristin have all played this part, but none of them noticed. You have talent." Lily flushed.

"Thanks, Mr. Locke. See you at the concert."

* * *

Thanks to a stroke of unfortunate luck, Lily arrived at the concert almost an hour early. The only other two people there were Roberto, a sophomore trumpet she didn't really know, and her oboe friend Inez (who was technically still at track practice, so she didn't count). Lily took deep breaths as she got her clarinet, and gave herself a once-over. Black marching shoes and socks, check. White tuxedo shirt tucked into black concert pants, check. Black bow tie secured around the collar, check. Hair in a braid, no jewelry, check. Lily tugged on her bow tie as it choked her. Freshman ready for her first Wind Ensemble concert, check.

This particular concert was for the Wind Ensemble, but first the highest middle school band played. Last year, she had been first chair in the middle school for this concert. She had memorized her music, and apparently, given the Wind Ensemble players something to talk about. This year, she would be back on stage, but in a whole new role.

"Hey, Keith, I have something to show you," she called when he walked in. He was also kind of early, and Lily was actually in a kind of good mood. "I brought the corny joke book from the 80s."

"No way!" Keith yelled, reaching out to grab it from Lily. She was faster. She twisted, he missed, and she read a joke. "What do a yardstick and a king have in common?" Keith thought about this.

"Well," he decided. "They're both rulers." Lily's mouth dropped.

"How did you get that?" He shrugged. "How is a baby like an old car?" This one had him stumped. "They never go anywhere without a rattle!" Keith cracked up.

"This is horrible. I can't believe I'm listening to this." Two baritone players, a freshman and a senior, and a senior percussionist friend of Lily's named Nate joined them.

"These are really bad," he said, grabbing the book, and walking back to set up on stage.

"Nate!" Lily protested, following him. "Give me the book!" He held it high above her head, and watched her jump for it. Nate often made fun of Lily's height. Finally, he gave it back. "Thanks," she called, going back into the band room. Inside, she joined a group of clarinets. Bailey was asking Roberto why he didn't give her a ride. "I didn't want to walk here in my uniform," she explained.

"Hey, Lily, I want to see the joke book again," Keith asked. She handed it to him, and he paged through it, looking for a good joke.

"Let me see that," Roberto said, grabbing it from him. He glared at Lily. "These suck," he said. "They're so horrible they shouldn't be read." He acted like it was her fault. He walked over to the trash can with it, but Lily didn't chase him like she did to Nate. She just watched.

"Wait!" Bailey called. "I want to see it!" She took it from Roberto, who wouldn't withhold anything from her. "Hey, Mary, what do you call a bear that rides without a saddle?" Mary shrugged . It was her first Wind Ensemble concert too, but she wasn't as nervous as Lily. She played with them in pep band and marching for two years. Why should concert music be any different.?

"I don't know," she admitted. "Tell me.." Bailey looked down nervously.

"Oops. I closed the book on accident. Now you'll never know!" Bailey said. Mary pretended to cry. Roberto rolled his eyes. Mr. Locke stepped forward.

"Let's tune! Tubas, baritone, trombones," he called as the band checked pitch on a concert F, like they did every morning. After that, he split them up and tuned each group. "Tubas, you're good. You can go. Baritones!" When he called the clarinets, he found Lily in tune. But when she went to check with a tuner, she was confused.

"I don't understand this tuner," she whispered to Alicia, a bass clarinet who was often nice to her. "What does that mean?" She didn't want the other clarinets to notice her ineptitude with the device.

"I don't know either," admitted Alicia. "But Mr. Locke says we're both in tune, so let's try against each other." Lily nodded, glad that this would work out. The two matched pitch on a Bb, so Lily was relieved.

* * *

In the auditorium, the middle school band played first. The clarinets sat together, and entertained themselves by telling stupid jokes, and sharing Roberto's hand sanitizer (fresh market apple scent). They left in the middle of the middle school's last song. Lily paced in the hall by Inez.

"I can't do this. I've never been so nervous in my life. I have a whole migrating flock of butterflies in my stomach." Inez nodded, and wet her reed in a film canister of water.

"Don't be nervous, Lily. You'll do fine." Lily glanced to Kristin, Kelsey, Bailey, and Mary, who were laughing about something as a group. Sure, she'd do just great.

* * *

"Introducing: the Honors Wind Ensemble!" Mr. Locke shouted. There were more people in the audience than usual, for two reasons. The first was because the whole middle school band and parents were there; the second was that every band student had to write a paper this semester. Many people in the Concert and Symphonic Bands opted to write their papers on Wind Ensemble. Lily was sitting between Kelsey and Roberto for the Official West Point March. She didn't really like it all that much, but it was easy, and she played third. Also, she wasn't as bad of as Keith, who was playing the impossible first part with Amanda.

"Good luck, kid," Kelsey said, right before Mr. Locke started. Lily smiled.

"Thanks," she replied. Kelsey wasn't that bad. She had a choice in this song with sharing a stand with Roberto or Kelsey, but she usually shared with Kelsey.

The song was a mix of marching songs from the famous military academy. It was also crammed on to one page for marching purposes, which made it nearly illegible. She recognized many bugle calls. The speed and size of the notes made it tricky, but overall, it wasn't that bad. She was almost happy when she moved on to the next song.

The next song was a classic called Pageant. Her lesson instructor told her about playing Pageant when she was in high school. It was one of the first pieces written for a wind band, as opposed to an orchestra. Unfortunately, she sat between Amanda and Roberto (she sat by him in most songs. Lily thought he did that on purpose) to play second. They argued about everything, right down to who sat where and read off which stand.

Since the seating chart instructed Roberto sit first, Amanda in the middle, and Lily at the end, that's where she sat. Roberto, though, glared at her, and pointed to the middle seat. Amanda had sat in the first seat, probably because it was closer to the first row where she played West Point March. "Move, there, now," he ordered through gritted teeth.

"But the seating chart says-" Lily protested. He shook his head, and pointed again. "That's just a guideline." Lily studied him, and decided it wasn't worth contesting. She quickly moved and sat down. Amanda caught her eye, and talked to her.

"You look horrible," she said. Lily gulped. She was sweating, and her braid felt limp against her head. She didn't want to be here. She was terrified, she decided. She would never really admit she was scared though. "Oh. . ."she trailed off, not sure how to respond to Amanda's comment. She was lucky Roberto didn't hear, or they would be shouting at each other.

"I mean, you look really nervous," Amanda clarified. Well, she was right. Lily was glad Mr. Locke raised his wand arm to start the song.

The song started with a clarinet choral piece. Bailey and Kelsey, playing first, carried a melody. It wasn't hard, but it took a lot of breath on Lily's part. Every once in a while, the clarinet part would fade away and they would get a break, but after a while, it would be back. About halfway through the song, however, it changed. It suddenly became a fast-tempo melody with a lot of brass, but percussion as well. There were many notes and difficult, quick rhythms. It had taken Lily a hard time to get them right, but it was worth it. She noted, with pride, the extra ledger line that had been added to the typo in the music. She'd found that mistake.

It seemed the song was over too quickly, and Roberto and Amanda rushed to their next parts. Lily stayed where she was, in one of her two songs without Roberto. She was excited for this one. Mary and Keith came over. "Good concert?" she asked them, wondering how they thought it was going.

"Yeah, other than the stupid West Point March," Keith said. "Hey, got a joke?" Lily shook her head.

"I put it in the folder. It's where Amanda's sitting." Keith shook his head. It wasn't worth it. Besides, they had to play.

Klezmer Dances was one of Lily's favorite pieces for that concert. It was fast and slow, and had a good clarinet melody line. Keith and Mary liked it too, and they rocked the second part. Of course, there was a long solo in the first part during a slow section of the song. Roberto really was good. It turned into a duet with Kristin, and soon the whole section had picked up on the melody. The end was Lily's speed. It was fast, and she kept up through every second. Something about the notes just felt right to her. It was the second song Lily had played in Wind Ensemble, and she'd found it manageable. It was the next song she had trouble with.

Starter seating was what they called everyone sitting in their original seats- by scores, not by a chart. Lily was back to third with Keith and Kelsey. A Boy's Dream was the one piece every clarinet (and most other people) in Wind Ensemble detested. Keith and Kristin renamed it A Boy's Nightmare. They were right.

The song had many key changes, difficult rhythms, and time signature issues. It was a hemiola- a song which was technically played in a different time signature than written. Again, Roberto had a long solo in the first part. It came right after a slow section, so it was difficult to find his tempo. Really, it was a duet with Lily's oboe friend Inez. She admitted that the song was the first time she really understood how Lily felt about his attitude. He had been openly frustrated with her rhythm issues. Lily had them, too. She didn't want to think about the number of periods she had spent on this song.

When it was over, there was a percussion feature. It was a chance for everyone to take a break. Her friend Jeff cracked a joke about bass players. Everyone laughed. She was actually feeling pretty good. Only two songs to go. She played them both with Roberto, but she wasn't quite as nervous anymore. She could take his criticism. Right now, she could conquer the world.

But by the next song, that high was gone. She was shaking again. She played second, between Roberto and Kelsey. Vesuvius was a challenging song. She had spent more time on it than all the other songs combined. Since it was about the epic volcanic eruption, one of the cast members of the musical Seussical, which had been performed that year, had put a prop volcano on the side of the stage.

"The concert's almost over," Kelsey said. "I'm so sad." Lily nodded in agreement.

Vesuvius was a hard song. Technically, Lily had been able to follow it easily. She saw where the 4ths and 5ths lied, and could divide the beats in the sections with strange counting (2-3-2-2). She didn't think the band had ever sounded as good. It was loud, but with good tone at the same time. At the climax of the song, she hit every 16th run and had every note in place. Bailey didn't even screw up her elusive solo, the one Kristin had wanted. Vesuvius was the first song Lily had played on her first day in Wind Ensemble. She wasn't likely to forget it. But even though the song was a good ten minutes, it ended too quickly. She knew what was coming.

"You ready for Benny Goodman, kid?" Roberto asked her. "Come on, let's move to the front row." She followed him without question. He'd had solos in the other songs, but this one was where he would shine. The first two pages were essentially one giant solo in Benny Goodman: King Of Swing.

Roberto looked up. "Mr. Locke forgot an extra stand and music copy. He wanted me to stand up."

"I'll stretch?" Lily suggested. Roberto shook his head, and smiled a little. "No, I didn't really want to stand up anyway." Lily shrugged.

She had spent a lot of time on this song as well. First part had to know what they were doing. Whenever Roberto was gone (which was quite often), she had to play the solos. It hadn't escaped her notice that no one moved up to play first with her. Usually, whenever a person who played first was absent, someone else stepped up to replace them and keep the other clarinet company. Lily knew everyone was scared of the solos. But Roberto was here tonight, so everything would work out all right.

The song was a medley of Benny Goodman hits: Let's Dance, Stompin' at the Savoy, Moonglow, and of course, Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing). Not that she would admit it, she liked the song. One of her friends had lent her a Benny Goodman CD she put on her iPod, and she listened to it a lot. She thought it was cool how Moonglow, which only originally included clarinet, piano, drums, and vibes had been extended for the whole band. Roberto played flawlessly. He was happy, she was happy, everyone was happy by the time they got to Sing Sing Sing. Everyone recognized the song, so a lot of work had been put into that part. But just like every song, it came to a dramatic end.

Since Benny Goodman was the last song, Lily took her bow in the front row. The bright stage lights made it hard to see past the first row in the auditorium. She couldn't see the people, but she could hear them. She smiled in spite of herself. It hadn't been a horrible concert after all. But as she left the stage, she had one message for Mr. Locke.

"I'm never, ever, ever doing that again!" she insisted. He shook his head and laughed.

"Of course you are. You know you love it."

* * *

AN: I always bring a joke book to my concerts. It really breaks the tension :) I made the concert list from songs I've either played or listened to. They are all real songs, and I do not claim to own them in any way. PM me for a list of composers or YouTube links if you're interested. I'm still trying to decide what the next chapter will be: Solo and Ensemble, or some fun drabble about Keith and puns. Review please, and I'll update soon!


	7. Solo and Ensemble

"Suzanne, Abby, and Lexi will do a flute trio. And, as always, the clarinets will be a clarinet choir," explained Mr. Locke as he read the Solo and Ensemble contest groups. North was the only school that required its students to perform for a grade. It was optional everywhere else.

"What does he mean by clarinet choir?" Lily asked Keith. "Like, all eight of us clarinets?" He nodded.

"Plus the bass clarinets. That makes ten, you see, because eight and two make ten," he explained. Lily rolled her eyes. "I can do basic math. That sounds hectic."

"It is."

* * *

Rehearsals with ten clarinets crammed into one room could be extremely hectic.

"First off," Roberto started in the first of their 5 rehearsals slots, "I've never done the clarinet choir before. I've always been in the woodwind quintet, so I have no clue what to do." The best clarinet traditionally joined the flute, oboe, bassoon, and french horn. However, there wasn't a bassoon this year, so Roberto led the clarinet choir instead. "I finally got the music assignments from Locke; everyone should have gotten them by now. Who's gone home and practiced this piece? The Brandenburg Concerto isn't hard, but we will need to work on it outside of band." Lily raised her hand, thinking she would be in the majority. It wasn't that bad, like Roberto said, but she hadn't seen the other parts. She was wrong. No one else raised their hands. Roberto sighed.

"All right. Anything else I should know about?" he asked, already exasperated. Kelsey spoke up.

"I didn't want to play alto clarinet. I switched parts with Kristin. She and Amanda are looking for the altos right now," she said. Roberto nodded. "I'm playing Clarinet Four now." Lily was Clarinet Five.

"Then I guess we should just jump in and sight read the thing. Lily, since you are the only person over there who practiced, I'm going to need you to hold that half together." Lily, Kelsey, and Mary all looked down at their stands. They were saved from further embarrassment by Amanda and Kristin coming in.

"We could only find one alto clarinet, so neither of us are playing today. Locke said he'd look for the other one," explained Amanda. "He'll never get to it, but I'll bother him later." She sat down in her seat, and Kristin followed suit, rolling her eyes for only Kelsey to see, though Lily and Mary saw too.

"Then let's go. One, two, three," Roberto counted off.

They had to stop about every five measures to regroup and compare parts. By the end of rehearsal, they had only made it through once, but it was okay. There was always Thursday, and next week.

* * *

Lily and Roberto continued to be the only two who actually practiced their parts. But despite that, it was coming along okay- with the exception of the lack of time. They had gotten the contrabass clarinet, regardless of the fact Mr. Locke strongly disliked the instrument. They had gotten two alto clarinets. Oh, there were still issues, but it was getting better.

"Well, contest is this Saturday," Roberto reminded everyone Wednesday of their second week. "Anyone have anything they want to work on? I know we need to work on that chromatic run, and gosh darn it, Bailey, learn that solo. But anything else?" Lily raised her hand.

"Kid, uh, Lillian, um, leLontre, Triple L, oh, whatever your name is! You don't have to raise your hand. This isn't school!" Roberto said angrily. Lily's eyes narrowed in thought.

"Actually, it is," she said, confused. Keith laughed, a little too loudly. Roberto glared at him, and he apologized.

"I don't care! Just go already! And, can I call you 'L'?" he asked, taking Lily by surprise. Another nickname?

"Sure, I guess," she said. "But what I think we should work on is that spot by measure number 114 on page 4. Kelsey, Mary, and I usually come in a few measures too early, and I don't know why."

"All right," he said, exasperated. "We can go through it once." They did, starting at 100. This time, however, they nailed the melody. But when they went back really far, Kelsey, Mary, and Lily missed it.

"I think we should go through it a few more times, at least to see where we're messing up," Lily insisted after Amanda said, "Let the kid talk." Roberto shook his head.

"We can't waste time on that!" But really, Lily knew, it was going to be the one thing for them that was between a I and II rating.

* * *

One day, when it became clear they weren't ready for Saturday, they had an after-school rehearsal. They had reserved Room C with Mr. Locke, so the other two bands' clarinet choirs couldn't take it. Not everyone could show up, but there was a majority. After a music run-through (in which Lily's suggestion of measure 114 was shot down by Roberto multiple times), they planned for the weekend.

"I'll probably be there when the school opens. That's around 7:30. Our performance is at 8:40. Be there by 8:20 for tuning and run-through. Sound good?" Roberto asked. Everyone nodded. Lily was kind of nervous. This would be different than the middle school version of Solo and Ensemble.

"Do we have to wear matching clothes or something?" she asked. In middle school, uniformity was always stressed. It gave any group a more polished and professional look. She thought it was a good idea, but judging by the looks she got back, it was a stupid question.

"No. But look nice," Roberto said, acting like she was stupid. In that case, Lily already knew exactly what she was going to wear.

* * *

One of the problems with relying on parental transportation was that you relied on someone else's schedule. Lily was at the site of the performance at 7:30, because that was when it was convenient for her mother to drop her off. No one else was there, except a couple of adults. She didn't see Mr. Locke anywhere, and wasn't sure she wanted to. He'd probably tell her she was shaking and needed to relax. She'd had those lectures way too often. She followed directions that Amanda had given her verbally into the wrestling room, which was the impromptu warm-up room. She set up her clarinet quickly, like routine, and played through a couple of difficult measures in the piece to warm up her reed. She had brought a tuner, and checked her pitch. Sharp. She adjusted, and grew tired of waiting. Roberto said he would be here by now! Where was everyone?

She wandered out of the room (leaving only her clarinet case) into the main part of the school. There, she met Keith. "Lily!" he shouted. "I've been looking everywhere for people! I finally found someone! And you're wearing your tie!" Lily grinned widely. She was wearing her black tie with a blue short-sleeved shirt and black pants. Keith, on the other hand, was wearing a fancy suit, with a clarinet tie. How band geek was that? Lily thought.

"I like yours too. Where's Roberto? He said he'd be here. And where is everyone else?" Keith shrugged.

"Do you know where the warm-up room is? I forgot." Keith was such an integral part of the clarinet section, in Lily's eyes, that sometimes she forgot he had just moved here a few years ago and was as new at this as she was. She nodded, and led him to the room.

Eventually, other members of the section showed up. Bailey had just gotten her license, and she had driven both herself and Mary. Roberto finally materialized, but gave no explanation as to why he was late. Amanda came in shouting at her younger brother Bobby, a clarinet in Concert Band. Lily saw all her Concert and Symphonic Band clarinet friends, but they were busy with their own sections. Both had tried more uniform looks like Lily had suggested. Concert Band wore their uniforms, while everyone in Symphonic Band was wearing a bandanna (though nobody claimed the idea as their own). Kelsey and Kristin walked in together, laughing about something. Alicia had carried in her bass clarinet, but Kaitlyn had needed help from her parents to haul in the contrabass.

"So, I guess," Roberto ordered, "we should warm up. Take the first five measures?" Everyone knew they knew this part by heart (Lily sometimes played through to another page without realizing she wasn't looking at the music), but no one mentioned they didn't need to work on it. "One, two, three."

Their warm-up went easily, even though they stopped around the third page. "We should tune," Roberto again ordered to his section. But when Kelsey held out his hand, he searched his pockets coming up with nothing. "Dang it, I don't have a tuner." Lily smiled easily.

"I do." She was shot a dirty look by Roberto for out-preparing him, but the rest of the section mobbed Lily to check their pitch. She, having already fixed her own, clutch her music tightly and started to pace. This was a different kind of performance. Only one judge, Kaitlyn's parents, and maybe an assorted student or two.

The section left as a group when Amanda said it was 8:30. They navigated the halls together, since they didn't know where they were going. This unfamiliar school fascinated Lily. It was so much bigger than North! And so much newer. She had taken a glimpse into the band room and it was covered in bright murals, while theirs was. . .lived in. Most of the whitewashed walls had at least one painted mural, but all but the newest were starting to fade. And the music hallway was bare, except for a bulletin board of various college music programs. This school was so much fancier!

It was a good thing they had left with ten minutes to spare. There were only six chairs in their performance room, and fewer stands. "Lily's short," Keith said. "If she stands, she'll be as tall as Mary and Kelsey." Everyone laughed, making Lily protest.

"I'm not that short! But I can stand," she offered. Amanda shook her head. "We'll find more chairs." They had to raid other classrooms, and the warm-up room to get the extra three chairs and tall stool for Kaitlyn's contrabass. There were even enough stands. All they could do was wait for the judge, who apparently was running late. Lily nervously shuffled her music around, making sure it was in order. Mary and Kelsey started a conversation, so Lily leaned back in her seat for them to talk over her. She did that all the time. Usually, she was in the middle of two people who really wanted to talk.

"Sorry I'm late," the judge said when he walked in. "Who's the leader, here?" Roberto stood up, and handed the judge the score. Lily did a quick scan. The door was closed. Kaitlyn's parents were there, as well as a french horn friend of Amanda's. The number of performers easily outnumbered everyone else. That made her happy, though she wasn't sure why. "So, should we start?" Roberto nodded.

"One, two, three," he said, with everyone raising their clarinets in unison for the pickup note. Though they didn't always get along, it was clear they could work together. They only glanced at the music occasionally, watching each other for visual cues.

The Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 was a quick piece in cut time, though it felt like 4/4. It was a Bach piece, adapted from an orchestral selection. The melody passed quickly between the two clarinet sections, and the alto and bass clarinets. Everyone had solos, but most people didn't play them loudly. Suddenly, it switched into a minor key. Lily loved minor keys. That was her favorite part. After a particularly difficult scale run, the song went back into a major key to replay the beginning section before the ending.

When Lily, Kelsey, and Mary hit measure 114, she realized that everyone else was still three measures behind. How could this happen? She started panicking, but managed to hold herself together. The three just stopped playing and came back in when everyone else hit that spot. Crisis averted, for the most part. No one missed Roberto's dirty look.

"That was wonderful," the adjudicator said when they were done. "Congratulations!" Everyone went through the mandatory thank yous, then left to put their clarinets away. Kelsey had to leave immediately, Roberto had to go warm up for his choir quartet, and no one really knew where Amanda went. Lily hung out with her friend Jenny, who went to the fancy school. After watching her choir solo, Lily caught up with the remaining clarinets: Keith, Kristin, Mary, and Bailey. When they saw their score wasn't posted, they went on a tour of the school.

"You know," Keith pointed out when they were going upstairs, an area that was not being used for the competition. "If Mr. Locke caught us, we'd all be dead. Except maybe Lily, cause she gets away with anything." It was true. Sometimes, Lily and Keith would talk in band, and Keith would get yelled at for talking. Not Lily, though. She was like a perfect saint.

Eventually, the group came back downstairs. They waited in the lobby for a long time, and they talked. Sure, they discussed random stuff. Mr. Locke, classes they took, and maybe a little politics. "I've got to go," Kristin said suddenly. "I was going to go shopping. But Bailey, text me our score when it's posted." Bailey nodded, and they said good bye. Kristin left, and they wandered around the lower level some more. Bailey was also a pianist, and had to accompany some vocal and sax solos. But for now, she was hungry.

"I really want food," she said, right as Mr. Lock walked by.

"Don't you guys ever feed her?" he asked. Lily shook her head, and he grinned. "Why are you all still here? Don't you guys have lives?" Lily shook her head again. "That's right. Band is your life."

"They haven't posted our scores yet," she explained, disregarding his comment about band being her life. If it was, she thought, that was a pretty sucky life. Mr. Locke flipped through his papers.

"Sorry. I don't have your score here. I guess you'll have to wait a while." So they did.

They went to a performance of Lily's friend, who also happened to know Keith, and was being accompanied by Bailey. Afterward, they went back to the lobby. Mr. Locke continued to harass them about having no lives, Bailey continued to be hungry, and Lily taught a senior how to tie a tie. His mom usually did it, he explained. Lily's eyes widened. Why did most guys not know how to tie their own ties?

They had been there until about one when their score was finally posted. "We got a Division I rating!" Lily shrieked, having been the first one to see it. "Even though we screwed up the section at 144 I told Roberto we needed to work on!" The clarinets exchanged celebratory high-fives and hugs. Lily was just relieved it was over.

She went back to check the score board. They had gotten a good judge. He had given I ratings to both other North High clarinet choirs, and seemed to be generous in general. One particularily harsh judge had given a V rating to a Concert Band sax group, the one she had a friend in. That had to hurt. By the end of the day, the Wind Ensemble sax quartet was the only group to get a I in that room.

After that, the group gradually fell apart. Bailey left to accompany some more, so Mary called her mom to pick her up. Keith drove him, and Lily called her parents too. It wasn't a bad day, really. The I! She hadn't expected anything that good! But it didn't stop her from burying the music when she got home. It hadn't been _that _great a day, after all.

* * *

AN: I was going to wait on this chapter, but I decided not to. This one was just faster to write than the others I was planning on. To ease up confusion on ratings, a group is given a score on a scale of 40. 38-40 is a I, and it goes down from there. A 40 is a I+, but that would be stretching it a little. A V is the lowest score possible (they're Roman numerals). I know it kind of stopped suddenly at the end, but the point was they were having fun while doing nothing. Sneak preview of the next few chapters: Keith and his sense of humor, tension between Roberto and Amanda, and a day of performing at elementary and middle schools.


	8. It's a Punny Thing

Of every person in Wind Ensemble, Keith was the nicest to Lily. He greeted her every morning with a joke, and acknowledged her in the hallways. The two had some pretty funny moments. Everyone else was too old (or mature) to understand.

One of the first times he talked to her (he had to find out her name again, first. He forgot) he said, "You see how there's these little circles on the side of the music?" Lily nodded. They were from the grate on the side of the old copy machine. "Well, there's all these little circles, so I really want to play Connect 4." Lily's face brightened.

"Yeah! Can we?" she asked. Keith nodded. "Sure." So, the two took out their pencils and played an intense game of Connect 4 during the rehearsal. Mary and Lily had played Uno before a concert rehearsal during the previous semester, and the two of them with Bailey had played checkers during marching season. Mr. Locke didn't really mind the games, or at least pretended not to.

* * *

Sometimes, pieces of music had a lot of Italian and French words written in them. One particular day, Keith decided to write a story using them. Lily and Kelsey helped.

"There once was a man named _Semplice._ He married a lady named _Doloroso._ The lights did _dim. . ."_ The story went on to tell about their love, and child. He was especially _dim_, and his name was_ cresc_o. He was involved in some interesting relationships. Eventually, it branched out into battles between love robots. It was a huge hit in the clarinet section. He named it "Pregnant", though the name was not related to the story. It was a redo of "Pageant". (Kristin and Bailey had originally renamed the song, and had ended the story with "It's a boy!" Keith had taken the idea and moved it a step further).

"Lily, can you get me Keith's story?" asked Roberto one day. Lily acted innocent.

"What story?" she asked. She wasn't sure if Roberto had seen it. He gave her a look that clearly said she had.

"Pregnant. What other story?" Lily shrugged, and found the story for him. He read it silently. "Keith!" he shouted. "What is this garbage?"

"It's not garbage!" Keith insisted. "It's a work of art!"

"I think it's funny," Lily said. Roberto rolled his eyes. "You would."

Later, Lily showed the story to their mutual percussionist friend Jeff. He also thought it was hysterical. Keith didn't agree.

"Lily!" he called, shaking his fist the next morning ("You're talking with your fist again," Lily said. It was a habit of his). "What's this I hear about you sharing my most personal and private works with Jeffery?" Keith only called Jeff by his full name. Lily rolled his eyes.

"You told him about it first! He just needed me to show him where you kept it. Besides," she defended herself. "Most everyone in here as read it already. At least, all the clarinets." Keith laughed sheepishly.

"Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

Lily was frustrated. Her Change and Rev homework was not easy, and they got 2-3 pages a night. She felt like pulling her hair out. And after that, she had to do the Trig stuff. And after that, she had to read two scenes in Romeo and Juliet. Plus there was this Biology worksheet. . .Lily's head fell down to her desk. But suddenly, her phone vibrated in her pocket, making her jump. She pulled it out. One new text message, from an unknown number. She quickly opened it.

_You have 5 tries to guess my name. You're on the clock- go!_

Lily giggled. It was more interesting than the Middle Ages, anyway. She tried to think of anyone she knew (who didn't already have her number, that was) who would send a message like that. Could it be Keith? Well, it sounded like him, but would he really text her? Yeah, they got along in band, but were they friends?

_5 guesses? What happens if I get it right?_ she asked back. When she went back to her homework, she had a burst of energy, making it easier to concentrate (even though she played with her phone in one hand). When it buzzed again, she had it open in a flash.

_10 points to Gryffindor or your affiliated house. Now, guess already! _This was definitely Keith. Just this morning, she and Mary were laughing at him for not knowing that much about Harry Potter. "Yeah," he had said, "But what do you know about Spongebob?" They had to admit they were a little clueless.

_All right, all right! Do I get any clues first? Do I know you?_

_Define "know you"_

_Have I met you at least three times, and would I recognize your name?_

_Yes, and yes, so that's an affirmative! _At this point, Lily's little sister walked into the room. Emma Lissa had met Keith before, at the first concert. He thought she and Lily were the same age, and refused to accept that Emma Lissa was only in 5th grade. "I was there when she was born!" Lily insisted. Keith swore that didn't prove anything. He honestly believed she was in high school. Sometimes, Lily resented her drum-crazy younger sister for that. Emma Lissa hung around band often, and was counting the days until she joined the high school drumline. _"_Who you texting?" she asked Lily.

"I think it's Keith. Read this. Any ideas?" she said, giving her phone to her sister.

"Ask him if he's tall, dark, and handsome!" Emma Lissa said, smiling with her sister.

_Are you tall, dark, and handsome? And what should I call you? _

_What kind of question is that? And for now, call me Mystery Texter #5. _She saved the contact under that name. Sometimes, people who saw that asked her how many Mystery Texters there were. "Just Keith," Lily said.

_My sister told me to ask that. You know, the one who's my age?_

_Oh, yeah, Emma Lissa. Well, are you going to guess?_

_So you know my sister? _asked Lily. Interesting. Most people knew her sister by sight, but not by name.

_No! I don't know this sister you speak of! You just mentioned you have one! Come on, guess!_

_All right. Is this Keith Chambers? _Finally, she guessed. If she was wrong, she thought, this would be bad. Luckily for her, she was right._  
_

_You guessed it! So, anyway. . ._

Lily giggled again, and went back to her Change and Rev. Keith wasn't that bad. Just really funny, and maybe a little misunderstood._

* * *

_AN: Yeah, it's a little short, but this chapter was meant to lighten the mood. Lily's found a most unlikely friend. It was fun to write, and I got to listen to a lot of funny stories from my friends before coming up with these. Review please! Next chapter will be up in a few days (it's already finished). Roberto and Amanda are up to something. Lily's not sure this is good. . . _  
_


	9. This Means War!

Roberto and Amanda did not get a long at all. Lily had known this since band camp. She always saw them arguing, and they would talk behind each others' backs. Lily once said, "the only way to truly blend in in band is to be a freshman." Lily had a habit of not talking, but instead listening. She heard everything Roberto and Amanda said about each other in her presence. One day, curiosity got the best of her. She wanted to know why they disliked each other.

She was scared of both Roberto and Amanda, but Roberto talked to her and occasionally helped her, whereas Amanda just bossed her around. She decided to talk to him first. "Why doesn't Amanda like you?" she asked him at a night rehearsal in September. It was early in the fall, but it was dark and cold. Lily hadn't brought her sweatshirt and was wearing a lightweight athletic shirt. She was freezing. It was clear who was a veteran, because they wore layers and hats and gloves and scarves.

Roberto snorted. "There's a lot of reasons. First of all, we've been fighting for parts since our freshman year. I'm better than her, though. She can't handle that. She's just not as good as I am. I've beaten her in every audition we've taken. Also, she loves to be right. She can't stand being wrong. She's so bossy! When I'm right, she just can't give in. And that's just the beginning." Lily nodded.

* * *

In Wind Ensemble, six months or so later, there was no change between their attitudes. But one weekend really set everything off.

The math decathlon team had placed high enough at the Regional competition to advance to State. Lily had gone for two years in middle school, but this was her first year in high school. As a freshman, she was only a Junior Varsity member, and would only get to compete in trial events. That didn't matter to her. She was excited. They got to spend the night before the competition in a hotel. She would share a room with her friends Jane (Concert Band flute) and Janie (Concert Band alto sax). . .and Amanda. Amanda was also a member of the team, but as a senior who had been involved for four years at the high school level, she would be competing on a full event schedule. Lily was jealous. With four people to a hotel room, they would have to share beds. Lily was okay with that, but Jane and Janie insisted she knew Amanda best. Therefore, the two would be sharing, and Lily was stuck with Amanda.

In the end, Jane was sick. "Please, Janie," Lily begged. "Can I share a bed with you?" Janie laughed at the wording, but agreed. She didn't like Amanda too much either.

The four-hour bus ride was quiet. Lily and Janie entertained themselves with scissors and duct tape. They read portions of an interesting book some sophomore girls had brought. They played Big Brain Academy on DS. Lily even tried to take a nap. By the time they got down to the university where the competition was held, everyone was ready to go. Varsity members were let free with event schedules, and told to find their locations. That left the JV members. There were about 20 overall, but less than 10 had chosen to go to State. The JV members were given a scavenger hunt with questions about the university, with the coaches promising prizes to first and second place. Janie and Lily took off at a sprint against a pair of boys.

About an hour later, they went back to where the coaches were supposed to be. One was there, along with Amanda, a junior girl named Julie, and a boy named Eddie, all sipping smoothies. Janie and Lily had to admit they needed help. "Hey, Julie, Eddie, Amanda, want to help us?" Julie and Eddie shook their heads, but Amanda nodded. "Why not?"

There weren't many girls on the math decathlon team. And most who were, were in JV. In fact, other than Amanda, the only girl was Julie. Lily thought Amanda was kind of lonely sometimes. "All right," Lily said. Amanda had been decent so far. She helped them hunt down college kids to ask questions about buildings and campus myths. She even stood up for them when a freshman boy they were competing against attacked Lily and ripped her answer sheet. Lily had known this boy for four years, and she wasn't letting him get away with it. She chased him back.

In the hotel room, things were quiet. Amanda told Lily and Janie a story about the year before. The windows at the hotel didn't have screens. At midnight, Amanda had walked across the outside of the building by climbing out the window to enter a guys' room. They were preparing something for a trial event, and Amanda had wanted to help, even though it was after curfew. Lily's jaw dropped. She _never_ imagined Amanda doing such a thing! Also, when Amanda cleaned out some test tubes she had brought for an experimental event, she flushed chemicals down the sink and turned the water blue. Lily started to think Amanda wasn't that bad, at least, outside of band.

Things went downhill at the buffet restaurant. Amanda was planning to sit with Julie at a table, but groups of four from North got the priority seating. "Lily, Janie," she asked. "Why don't you sit with us? Then we can sit down faster. And besides, us girls have to stick together." Lily and Janie looked at each other. Janie shrugged.

"Sure," Lily agreed. At the table, before they got food, Lily told a story about the last time she had been to a restaurant, for her grandfather's birthday. The host tried to give her a children's menu. Lily knew she looked young, but she wasn't that young! Amanda and Julie laughed (Janie had heard the story before), and Lily felt like she had accomplished something. Not for long. It was a tradition between her, Janie, and if she had been there, Jane. The first dish at the buffet they had always was Jell-o, mac and cheese, and a roll. Lily had only wanted water, so she had gotten back to the table first while Janie got some Cola. Amanda and Julie were already there. Lily sat down, and glanced towards the drinks for Janie. Amanda took one look at Lily's food.

"I can see why they gave you a children's menu," she said, eyebrows raised. She wasn't kidding. Lily felt her cheeks turning red. "It's tradition," she muttered. "Janie has the same thing." Amanda dropped it, but Lily was already hurt.

Later at the meal, when everyone was done eating but the coaches were still talking so the team was bored, Lily and Janie were fooling around with some corn in a cup. They were shaking it up, and looking for pictures in the pattern the corn landed in to try fortune telling.

"You are really strange," Amanda said. Lily felt her cheeks burning again. "We're just joking around. We're not going to meet a sad 23 year-old woman with buck teeth tomorrow."

"I know," Amanda said, but her voice implied she didn't feel that way. It was more sarcastic.

The conversation turned to band later (when they were still stuck at the restaurant). "Roberto isn't a very good role model for you," Amanda told Lily. "He only cares about himself, and he's a know-it-all. But usually, he's wrong. He can be very condescending. Don't listen to him. And Mr. Locke is always bossing you around and pushing you into stuff. Don't listen to him. Don't listen to either of them. That's how you'll get through band," she said. Lily nodded, but shot a worried glance towards Janie. What had she gotten herself into?

* * *

That Monday back at school, Lily was eating lunch with a group in the hallway in front of the band room. Mr. Locke around to do his rotation as usual. "May you unlock one for me, please?" Lily asked when he passed the practice rooms. Mr. Locke was a stickler for "May I?" and "Please?", so she had to get the grammar to get the room. Lily spent two periods a day in the band room, three if she could (four only if she was _really_ lucky). One was for band, the others were for practicing. Mr. Locke was used to her presence 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and occasionally 6th period. "Of course Ms. leLontre," Mr. Locke said

"Thanks," Lily said, getting up to throw out her trash and get her clarinet.

"No, thank YOU for practicing," he said, throwing pointed glares toward the other band members in the hall. They all managed to look away.

"Oh, yeah," Lily remembered. "I forgot to tell you. Amanda says I'm not supposed to let you boss me around anymore. I'm also not supposed to talk to Roberto either." Mr. Locke burst out laughing, loudly.

"That's funny. But you know Amanda, always going on about something. Don't take her seriously, okay Lily?" Mr. Locke said. Lily nodded, and Mr. Locke walked away, still laughing. Then Roberto walked by, leading a group of choir kids into another practice room.

"Excuse me, Lily," he said. "You'll have to move for a second."

"I forgot to tell you," Lily said. "Amanda says I'm not supposed to listen to you or let you boss me around." Lily wasn't trying to cause trouble. In fact, the exact opposite. Lily liked following rules. If someone told her to do something, she did it, which was why she was following Amanda's orders. But at the same time, she believed in fairness. Therefore, she had to tell Roberto that she wasn't supposed to listen to him anymore.

Roberto laughed, too. "Okay, kid. You know her. Just making trouble." He followed the others into the choir room, and Lily retrieved her clarinet. The conversation, however, was far from over.

* * *

"What exactly did Amanda say about me?" Roberto asked, barging into Lily's practice room. She could see her friends in the hall giving her strange looks. They knew she and Roberto didn't really get along. He shut the door, and sat down on a seat across from her. Lily assumed he wasn't leaving, so she put her clarinet on her lap. He was skipping choir, she knew. Whatever this was, it must have been important.

"Well, she said you're a know-it-all, and you're really condescending. And you only care about yourself and you're not a good role model, so I shouldn't talk to you," Lily explained. Roberto nodded.

"Lily," he said, "Amanda's just trying to stir up trouble. She wants to make you choose between the two of us. But it doesn't have to be like that. You know, right?" Lily nodded. She was feeling a little vulnerable. Roberto was acting concerned, and it made her nervous. Did her really care about her, or was he more worried about himself?

"It's obvious why Amanda is picking on you. You're a freshman. You're scared, nervous, and willing to believe anything we tell you. But I'll tell you the truth: she's wrong. Don't listen to her. I'm not going to let her keep doing this. I'm going to have a talk with Mr. Locke," he said grimly.

"Oh, he already knows," Lily said. Roberto half-smiled.

"Why?" he asked, sounding a little relieved.

"Because Amanda told me not to listen to him or let him push me around, too," she explained. Roberto's relieved face twisted into an angry expression immediately.

"This is wrong. Amanda has no right at all to do this. If anything, even if you don't listen to me, listen to Locke. He's in charge here, not her. I'm talking to him. This _really_ has to stop. She's pulled these stunts before, but she's never gone this far. Stay out of her way. I'll take care of it." With that, Roberto left, leaving Lily with her music and clarinet. She wasn't sure who to believe, but she knew it wouldn't be long before the section was in total chaos.

* * *

AN: I'm leaving for the weekend tomorrow, and I wanted to put up one chapter before I went. I know it never really turned into war, but it still fit. So, what do you think of Amanda and Roberto now? Do either of them really have Lily's best interests at heart? Review please! It makes me happy 3


	10. Wind Ensemble on Tour

One of the things Lily was looking forward to in Wind Ensemble was the Tour. The Tour involved performing at a middle school and five elementary schools. It was a very long day. It was special for Lily, because she had first seen the Wind Ensemble on Tour in 4th grade. That's when she decided to play clarinet. In 6th grade, she saw Roberto playing for the first time. In 8th grade, she had seen Bailey for the first time in many months. She had always looked forward to the Tour. It was ironic, how she jumped from being in the audience to being in the band.

The other thing Lily was looking forward to was missing school. Not that she was a delinquent, but she hadn't missed a day of school all year, and she wasn't going to get sick just for that purpose. Field trips were her only hope of escaping the endless cycle of classes. And a full day out with band kids was going to be really fun.

Lily was one of the first people in the band room at 7. She hadn't even brought anything besides her clarinet. Amanda and Alexa, as the Band Staff librarians, were handling music folders. She was bouncing around as she hung out with the other freshman going on the Tour. Inez (oboe), Matt (baritone), Cody (percussion), and her were the only freshman in the Wind Ensemble, but Lily's good friend John (sax), and not-so-good friend Drew (french horn and trumpet) were touring with the Jazz Band. Lily had left the group, and was talking to Mary when Mr. Locke called the band to attention.

"First off, Mr. Sparrow can't come today. That means one less chaperon," Mr. Locke explained. "Mr. Cole, the choir director, will drive the equipment truck. I will be in one bus. That means the other bus will have no adults. Behave, or else." That really got people excited. "Now, equipment assignments: Amanda and Alexa, you already have the folders. Nate, you're in charge of the truck. Loading, unloading, getting stuff out, it's up to you." Nate nodded from the corner and shot Lily a look. He knew about his assignment ahead of time, and promised Lily she would get to carry something heavy, twice as big as she was. Nate wasn't a bad guy, but he had a tendency to be a little. . . creepy. He used to scare Lily, but now she was used to him.

"Then let's load the buses!" shouted Mr. Locke. Lily had never known that 50 kids could be so loud. She looked at the stampede in the band room. Everyone was wearing their black band t-shirt and jeans. They looked so similar, but Lily knew how different they were. On the bus, she grabbed a seat by Inez, and John was across from them. Amanda was in front of her.

The first stop was the middle school Lily had attended. When she first walked into the gym, she stared at the empty bleachers. Last year, she had been sitting there. Things could really change in just twelve months. "Lily, let's move!" shouted Mr. Locke, and Lily took off like a shot. There were a lot of things to do to get ready for this performance. Lily couldn't carry all the heavy stuff, so she was stuck inside. Her first job was the clarinet chairs, as well as the first and second rows. She knew where all the stands went, and rushed them from the racks to the seats. She almost ran into Alexa when she got the folders.

"I'll take those," Lily said, taking the clarinet and bass clarinet folders from Alexa's arms. "Thanks," Alexa said and smiled. Lily smiled in return. She hadn't spent that much time with Alexa, but she wasn't that bad. Lily hopped back to the clarinet section, and distributed folders to each stand. Kristin and Kelsey had just sat down to put together their clarinets, and Lily joined them. Within minutes, everyone was together, and people were coming into the gym. Jazz kids sat on the sidelines and waited.

Lily recognized many people, but didn't say anything. She did see all of her middle school teachers, from seventh grade language arts to eighth grade math. She was anxious. "Hey, Inez," she said, poking the oboe player. "All of our teachers are here. That's weird." Inez looked at the audience and nodded, grimacing. Lily smiled back, and they laughed, a little.

The first piece was a band piece, but it had four clarinet parts instead of three. Lily played third with Kristin, while Keith and Kelsey played fourth. The second piece was a march. The third was a medley from a Broadway musical, and the last was a collection of TV themes (Lily didn't really watch TV, so she didn't know most of them). The middle school performance went easily. Lily's embouchure was fresh for the day, and it felt like all the concerts she had done in that gym. As soon as they were done playing, the principal asked all the alumni to stand up. At least 3/4 of the band were on their feet. The Jazz Band and Madrigal Choir both performed, and then they were off to the next school.

"Lily!" called Nate. "Take this stand rack!" Lily walked over him and examined the stand rack. She shook her head.

"This thing is huge! I can't move that! Besides, this is the one with the broken wheel. You have to be _really _strong to make this one go straight," she informed him, even though he already knew. Nate shrugged. "Take it anyway." Lily shot him a piercing glare (she never could manage to give that look to members of her own section), but grabbed the stand rack anyway. "That's the spirit!" he shouted.

But, since it was the rack with the broken wheel, it was hard to move. It took Lily a very long time to maneuver it out the small door and into the truck. "I'm going to kill you," she told Nate. He laughed.

"We both know I'm bigger and stronger and could probably crush you. You used to be scared of me. No chance," he said, smiling. He was just relieved to find someone who would carry that particular stand rack. They walked together back onto a bus, where Lily sat by Inez and Nate by Jeff. Lily smirked.

"Hey, Nate," she called back, standing up. "We're going to the elementary schools now, and my sister's going to be at one of these. Keep the creepiness to a minimum." Nate smiled, and knew she was pissed about the stand racks. Jeff cracked up. Another percussionist rolled her eyes.

"An elementary school is probably the worst place to send Nate ever." Almost the whole bus was laughing, but Nate sent Lily a look that clearly said she was pushing many more stand racks in the future. She giggled anyway. Why couldn't she have this much fun with the clarinets?

At the next school, Forester Elementary, Lily put her clarinet on her chair (which she had set up quickly). Nate hunted her down. "Hey, Lily, can you go get the other stand rack?" He was hauling one himself, but she could clearly see it was the one with the good wheel.

"No," she said. "Mr. Locke asked the clarinets to set up the stands." She skipped off to grab a stand from the end of his rack, and put it down in front of Roberto and Mary's section. Then she went back to get two more. "I am helping, you know." She set those two stands down, and went to get more. On her third trip, she gave Nate, who was watching her, a huge smile. He couldn't help himself. He cracked up.

"Lily!" Roberto yelled, walking past. "Let's go!" Lily muttered an acknowledgment, and followed him, bright smile disappearing. She picked up the folders from Alexa, who gave her the folders she needed with a knowing look. She rushed to put them all on the stands, but people were already sitting and waiting. Lily felt bad, even though it wasn't a job assigned to her.

The performance was just as easy as the first. When the choir and jazz band started playing, Kristin and Keith got bored. They played Rock, Paper, Scissors.

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Kieth shouted. They both drew Rock. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Kristin pulled Paper, while Keith did Rock again. "Dang it," he muttered. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Keith was on a losing streak. "Let's change it up," he suggested.

"Let's change the things. How about. . .Volcano, Forest, Stream?" Kristin asked. They developed a set of rules. Stream beat volcano, because water put out fire, but stream was beat by forest, because trees used a lot of water. On the other hand, forest was burned by volcano. After a few rounds, the game expanded to include Avalanche, Cities, Earthquake, Rain, and many other factors. It was hopelessly complicated. The game stopped when the principal of Forester Elementary called attention.

"Now, there are some very special people in the band today. How many of you are Forester alumni?" A large number stood up, encompassing at least half the band. "Would all those come up and say their names?" Kristin and Mary both hesitantly walked forwards with other people, such as Inez, and Suzanne, a flautist, and Cody and Drew, other freshmen.

After the somewhat awkward introductions, they packed up quickly. Lily handed the clarinet folders to Alexa, and Nate appeared behind her. "Ready to help?" Lily jumped a foot.

"Nate! Don't do that! You know I hate it when you sneak up on me. But I guess I could. . ." she said. Nate gave her a triumphant look. "I'll take this one, and you can take the other." She ran to the good stand rack, and wheeled it out the door. "See you at the truck!"

"Listen up!" Mr. Locke shouted. "Next performance is at Native Prairie Elementary. Then we'll have lunch. I expect you'll be out of there fast, but I wanted to tell you anyway." Lily's ears perked. Her sister, Emma Lissa, was a fifth-grader at Native Prairie. In fact, Lily used to go to Native Prairie.

Nate made her carry the stand rack in that time. She didn't complain too much. She scanned the children who were on the playground when they came in, looking for neighbors. She didn't recognize anyone, but she thought she saw her first and second grade teacher. Inside, though, she wasn't so lucky.

"Lily!" greeted a woman. Lily turned around. It was Mrs. Black, the recently appointed assistant principal. She had been a multiage teach when Lily was younger, and had taught Lily second-grade math. "It's fantastic to see you!" Lily went through a polite conversation before taking the stand rack into the gym. Jeff and Nate that lucky. She heard the principal call out, "Jeffery! How are you? And Nathan's here too!" Served him right for making her take the stands again.

Inside, while waiting to play, Lily scanned for her sister. "Who are you looking for?" Keith asked.

"Emma Lissa," Lily told him. "Oh, I see her. Hey! That little delinquent's wearing my shirt!" Keith laughed a little, and Lily glared at him. Her sister often took Lily's clothes, since Lily was gone when she woke up and they were about the same size (thought Lily was quick to point out she was 2 1/2 inches taller).

The performance was the same, but when alumni were asked to stand, there were a lot fewer people. Lily glanced at the others. Jeff and Nate had stepped forward. Matt the baritone and his trombone brother, and another baritone she did not know well (though he lived two houses down). The trumpet prodigy, Corey, and a sophomore trumpet that was the older brother of one of her sister's friends. And Roberto! Lily thought about that. He hadn't been here when she had. He must have been in a boundary change before she started, Lily deduced.

Afterward, she said a brief hello to her sister before taking the stand rack from Nate. She was walking out with Jeff through the cafeteria when a small child came out of nowhere. "Lily! Hi, Lily!" It was Julia, a second-grader, and sister of Emma Lissa's best friend. Lily baby-sat for them sometimes.

"Hey, Jules," she said. "Good to see you!" Julia hugged her, then ran off back to her lunch table. "Cute kid," Jeff said. "She's adorable." Lily nodded, and they rushed. It was getting late, and they were hungry!

On the bus, Mr. Locke laid out the ground rules for lunch. "We're parking in the lot by the grocery store. There's lots of restaurants. You can go to Taco Bell, White Castle, Tommy's, and since I know you all like it, Steak and Shake." Murmurs rose in the bus. Lily knew Steak and Shake was the place to go after band events. You had to be really well liked to be asked though. Once, Bailey was invited and she had brought Mary with her. Roberto, Keith, and Kelsey seemed to go all the time. "There will be no crossing streets. Do so, and there will be major consequences. You get fifty minutes, which is more than enough for lunch. You only get forty-five at school, and that's only for those of you who have a lunch period. Let's go!"

"Where do you want to go?" Lily asked Inez. They'd probably go with John, since the three of them had spent most of their time together. Inez shrugged.

"Steak and Shake sounds fine. I don't really like Taco Bell," Inez said. Lily shook her head. She didn't either.

She suddenly remembered an important thing she was doing. Mr. Locke had told her mom recently that she had a "deer in headlights" look. Lily didn't think she did. Kelsey was the first she asked, and she said she didn't. Keith and Mary agreed with Lily. Bailey said she did sometimes, so she counted it as half. She didn't plan on asking Roberto. He'd probably tell Mr. Locke. That only left Amanda and Kristin. Amanda was sitting in front of her so she leaned over the seat.

"Hey, 'Manda?" she asked, in her habit of occasionally dropping syllables from words. "Can I ask you a question? I'm doing a survey . And Alicia, too," she added. Bass clarinets were clarinets, too, kind of.

"Sure," Alicia said. "Go ahead." Lily clutched the seat back to steady herself as the bus lurched into motion.

"Mr. Locke said I had a deer in headlights look. Is it true? Because Kelsey an' Keith' an' Mary don't think so, but Bailey says I sometimes do. What do you think?"

"Definitely. All the time," said Amanda.

"No, absolutely not!" said Alicia. Lily tallied. Now it was 4 1/2 to 1 1/2.

"Thank you," Lily said. She dropped down to talk to Inez and John again.

In the parking lot, Lily, Inez, and John got off the bus and went to Steak and Shake. To their surprise, there were few people. Them, a group of low brass players, some sophomore woodwinds, and a quartet of choir kids were the only high schoolers in the restaurant. Everyone else was at least 25. They got weird looks, but no one asked questions, so Lily assumed they saw the bus. Besides, didn't juniors and seniors come here on lunch release? They enjoyed a somewhat fulfilling meal of steakburgers, fries, and of course, shakes. Lily was finishing her fries while Inez and John waited, clearly impatient.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I'm a really slow eater." They laughed, but Lily ate as fast as she could, even though they still had twenty minutes. They saw a group in front of the grocery store with ice cream, so they joined the conversation. Kelsey was there, but she pretty much ignored Lily, other than greeting them. Roberto walked by with some other musicians who were in both band and choir, but he completely ignored both Lily and Kelsey. That made her feel better (though she wasn't sure why).

Back on the bus, they talked for about five minutes before everyone was ready to leave. Nate told Lily about the smoothie he had gotten. John tried to text people and see whose phones were on at school. Inez had her sister's phone, and was watching her movies. Amanda complained to Alicia. Jeff and Keith yelled at Lily from the rear of the bus, and Lily yelled back. It was loud, and everyone was doing their own thing. So many things this day reminded Lily of why she liked band so much.

The next school was an elementary school called Boulder Ridge. Lily knew this performance would be a little different. While only 4th graders, who would be selecting instruments that year, and 5th graders, some of whom had already started band, were present at the other elementary schools, Boulder Ridge was sending all levels down to watch the bands. Lily found this out from the Sunday School teacher she worked with in the 4 year-old class. Her daughters had heard Lily was in the South band, and were excited they would see someone they knew.

Also, Lily's mom was a speech pathologist at Boulder Ridge in the Early Education Center. She knew her mom's class probably wouldn't be there, but either way, it was awkward.

Inside, they set up quickly, everyone revitalized after a good lunch break. The 5th grade band was still rehearsing when they got in, so most people put down their instruments and watched, out of respect. Lily joined them. When the band finished their practice, everyone applauded loudly. Most of the younger band geeks seemed scared, but others' faces broke out in wide smiles when the high schoolers cheered. Lily couldn't believe she had been one of them once. A couple of seniors from the smaller sections approached the students. She saw a baritone going up to meet a small boy, and an oboe reassuring a girl. But the communal moment was cut short when the band students went back to class to go to the assembly, and the high school students set up.

"Clarinets!" Mr. Locke yelled. "Move those stands over for jazz!" he ordered, pointing to some of the elementary school's stands in the back corner of the room. Lily and Keith, the only clarinets who were present, shrugged and got to work. Lily had gotten to the stands when she literally ran into someone.

"Hi, Mom!" she said, taking the stand, and walking it to the jazz setup. Keith gave them a strange look, but chose not to comment. Lily didn't either. Her mom, she found out later, was on her lunch break, and had stopped in to help the music teacher set up. She left before the performance.

While waiting for the students to come in, Lily surveyed Kristin. "Do you think I have a deer in headlights look?"

"No," Kristin snorted. "You're normal." Lily thought that was a good thing. She felt someone staring at her, so she turned. An especially short 1st grader was watching her intently, like she recognized her. Ashley! Lily did know her. She had been a teen aide at day camp that summer, and Ashley was in her unit. She gave a small wave, and Ashley broke into a wide grin, giving Lily a huge wave back. Lily turned back to see Keith craning his neck. "Who are you looking for?" she asked.

"My brother. I know he's here somewhere, and he's in 4th grade. I'm looking, looking, there!" he said, triumphantly. "Found him. He's in the back row!"

"So was my sister," Lily sympathized. "Makes them hard to spot."

The performance was like any other, but they had started a little late, and needed to get moving right away. While the jazz band was still playing, the concert band was loading up. They used a different system for stands to be quieter. They took the stands and racks outside, and loaded them there. They had the stands and one of the racks. "Lily?" asked Nate. She glared, but it was empty, so it didn't matter. Back in the gym, she scanned for the rack, not finding it quickly. Then she spotted it, on the other side of the gym with the jazz band. Crap. How was she supposed to get it now?

She ran to the other side of the gym, moving quickly. At the rack, Mr. Locke told her to wait until the song was over to take it out. She nodded, and rested her arms on the rack. This day was actually pretty tiring. Then it got awkward. Mr. Locke held onto the rack as well, one arm on either side of Lily. He and the stand rack surrounded her. She decided to keep her mouth shut. Her gaze traveled to where Keith and Roberto were sitting and talking. Keith shot her a sympathetic grimace. Once the song was over, Mr. Locke went to talk to the students, and Lily left as soon as she could.

"I'm never doing this again," she told Nate, extremely seriously, throwing the rack at him. Everyone who had been in the gym laughed, and Jeff filled Nate in on what had happened. "Sorry about that," Nate said. "He can be awkward like that." Other students shared their stories of similar occurrences, and Lily felt slightly better. She rushed back into the gym to get her clarinet, and was met head-on, almost knocking her over.

"Hi," the little body who was clutching her tightly said. The girl tilted her head back at Lily, and she smiled, crouching down to hug her back. "Ashley!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the little girl. Lily held her hand as they left the gym, and Lily promised to be back at camp that summer. She glanced at her watch as she headed out the door. Mr. Locke wasn't joking. They were short on time.

East Elementary was the last school. It was also the smallest. Bailey, who had once gone to school there, called it a "ghetto school". Lily had never been inside, but she agreed it looked more run-down. When set up, Mr. Locke gave them a run-down. "We're cutting the march!" A really, really loud cheer rang through the small, and very echo-y gym. No one liked marches. "And," he continued, "the Broadway piece." This one received more protest, especially from the horn player who had a pretty good solo. "Jazz won't play at all." That got the largest argument.

They played quickly, which was good. It was hot, and Lily's embouchure was starting to sag. She wouldn't be able to play much longer. She was thrilled when they finished, and she put away her clarinet for the last time. When the choir was done, there was a stampede for the bus (even though they had to clean up first). It went quickly. Lily grabbed some chairs to put away, and relieved herself of stand rack duty.

Back at North, Lily proved her dedication by staying until everything was put away. But after she walked home, she collapsed on her bed in exhaustion. Band could be tough, but she was starting to think she didn't regret it, not one bit.

* * *

AN: I promised a reader that this chapter would be up yesterday, but I thought it was half done at the time. I was wrong, and this was a difficult chapter to write. I feel like I introduced a lot of unnecessary characters. Most new people in this chapter will never be important again. On the other hand, it's the longest chapter I've ever written. So, review please? Then I'll update faster (hopefully). Two days till Band Camp for me!


	11. The Second Wind Ensemble Concert

The second Wind Ensemble concert of the semester, the final one for seniors, was approaching quickly. Lily knew it was the last concert for Roberto, Amanda, and Keith, so she was determined to be perfect. That meant many more lunches, study halls, and occasional gym classes in the practice room. It was going to be a great concert (though she told Mr. Locke she wasn't going. Some things would never change).

She was talking to Kelsey, Bailey, and Tony after school. Tony was a junior percussionist, and was 1st chair in all-state. Therefore, many people said he was the best in the state. He and Lily were pretty good friends, though Tony could be annoying, had an ego, and was kind of lazy if he wasn't playing. Today, they were talking about decorating.

"So, we're doing these star garland things on the stands, and there's going to be a 'Congrats Grads' banner hanging somewhere, but I don't know where. The color scheme is black, gold, and silver," Kelsey explained to Bailey. They were staying to work. It was expected for Kelsey, but Bailey was staying because she wanted to. Tony was staying because he wanted a ride from Kelsey's brother. Lily was just listening.

"Can I help?" she asked impulsively, cursing herself after the fact. Of course they wouldn't want her help! There were already a bunch of people, and they were all older.

"Sure," Kelsey said. "Let's go." Lily, pleasantly surprised, followed her into the auditorium. Inside, Corey, a trumpet player, Fraser, a horn, Roberto, and Amanda were already sorting through bags and setting things up. "I brought help!" Kelsey called.

Tony immediately made himself useful by directing Roberto, Corey, and Fraser in hanging the banner. "A little to the left, no, not your left, my left. Good, now make it higher, no, that's too high!" He lounged comfortably in the 16th row.

Amanda put Lily and Kelsey in charge of stands. They tried to put just the star garlands on, but Lily didn't think it was working. "They're not showing up," she said. Kelsey walked back a distance and looked.

"You're right. Hey, I think I know where there's some crepe paper in the band room. Maybe we could put the garlands on top." Lily followed her back down the hall. In the band room, it was dark, but Lily and Kelsey both knew their ways around. They looked over by the back of the band room, hunting through boxes.

"Found something!" Lily called out. There were crepe paper streamers in yellow, white, and black. Kelsey smiled.

"I knew it was around here somewhere! Come on, let's go," Kelsey said. Lily followed her back to the stage, clutching the large box with both hands. Inside, she called out, "Look what we found!" Roberto and Amanda came straight over to examine the contents.

"Good finds," Amanda said. "I'll take these," she said, grabbing one of the yellow rolls and the white roll, "and work on the banner for the bottom of the stage. Why don't you two work on stands?" Lily nodded eagerly, and sat in front of one to work. She and Kelsey worked quietly, occasionally asking the other politely for scissors. The star garlands had wire in the middle, and Lily's arms were getting scraped. Kelsey was noticeably more efficient at wrapping the stands with crepe paper, while Lily was getting hopelessly tangled.

"Were'd everyone go?" asked Kim when everyone had been silent for a few minutes. Roberto was straightening out the banner, and Amanda was working on the streamers that would hang on the raised stage front.

"Tony got bored and left. He decided getting a ride wasn't worth it," Roberto explained. Lily wasn't surprised. "Fraser, Corey, and Bailey went to get more stars and crepe paper for the stands, even though I don't think we need crepe paper anymore." Within minutes, they all finished their respective tasks, and could only wait. Lily and Amanda sat in the front center row, a few seats apart from each other. Kelsey was in the middle of the front right section, and Roberto sat on the stage. The conversation turned to the upcoming prom.

"You're not going to your senior prom?" Amanda asked, outraged. "Why not?" Roberto shrugged.

"I don't really like dances. Besides, it's all grinding now anyway. I didn't even know what grinding was until my sophomore turnabout." Lily giggled. She had learned about grinding long before. Roberto shot her a look, and she stopped abruptly. "I usually just end up in the corner with the other band kids. I don't see the point." Lily thought he was right. Just then, Corey, Fraser, and Bailey came back in.

"We have more crepe paper and stars," Fraser said, putting a shopping bag down on the stage. Lily took the cardboard stars, and taped them to the back of the stands. They older students were discussing what to do with a few more of the stars and garlands. They decided to hang them by the banner, a garland used as a string with stars falling at various lengths on either side. When they decided the layout, they started working.

However, they had been there for at least two hours, and most of the students were getting bored. Lily, however, had to be perfect. So she kept at it. While the others were starting to put supplies away, she was standing on a chair (she, unlike the others, was too short to reach the pole to hang the stars on her feet), and tying the garland. That's when Mr. Locke walked in.

"So, that's how you decorate the stage. Just stand around while the freshman does all the work? Great system," he said, completely sincerely. Lily blushed, and jumped off the chair, criticizing her handiwork. It wasn't perfect, but she sure wasn't going to admit it with Mr. Locke in the room. Lily took the decoration box back to the band room while the others left. Mr. Locke was still there when she went to get her bag, clarinet, and folder.

"Hey, Lillian?" he said. Lily looked up on the stage. "Good look tomorrow night. You'll be fine." Lily hitched her bag over her shoulder and walked towards the exit. She turned back before leaving. "Thanks, Mr. Locke."

* * *

She refused to go to the concert. Locke didn't care. He told her she would be in the band room at 6. She assumed that meant she didn't have a choice.

* * *

This concert, she wasn't the first one there. She arrived with the rest of the fray,and blended in with the rest of the clarinets. This concert was special because it was the seniors' last one. They originally planned to wear black shirts instead of white to distinguish themselves, but Mr. Locke disagreed and threatened to withhold points. Instead, the seniors wore ties.

Roberto and Keith both wore clarinet ties, to Lily's great amusement. Amanda's tie was a rather ugly plaid. Nate wore a novelty zebra print tie, as did another percussionist. She laughed as she saw the assortment of ties in the room. Too bad she hadn't worn hers! Like anyone would believe she was a senior. . .

Lily went to get a drink in the hall. She slipped into the bathroom to check herself out. She didn't like to look fancy, but wanted to look nice, even if a cut first part meant she wasn't reaching the front row tonight. She took a deep breath. Tuxedo shirt ironed and tucked into black pants. Her shoes and socks were both black. Blond hair was tied securely into a braid. Her glasses were clean, and she wore no jewelry. She looked kind of pale, she thought.

There was no middle school band, or any band for that matter, playing with them that night, so after tuning, Wind Ensemble took the stage. Lily tucked a stray strand of blond hair behind her ear, and took her spot in the second part between Roberto and Kelsey. "Good luck tonight, Lily," said Roberto. She turned to him, astonished. He was completely sincere. It made sense, if she thought about it. The pressure was off. All they had to do was play this concert, and the competition, stress, and pressure would be gone. In general, the mood of the room was light. Many shared memories and commented on how much had happened since freshman year. Lily couldn't contribute, but she still listened.

The concert opener was Aerial Fantasy, a piece written for the US Air Force band. It had many tricky parts in high octaves for the woodwinds. There were a lot of runs Lily had spent working on, and she could tell Roberto had, too. Bailey had a huge solo in this song. Lily wondered if she would have solos her sophomore year. Probably not. In the slower portion of the song, there were a few measures in a difficult rhythm. Lily had never perfected it, but every time she practiced it, she was a little better. When the piece was over, Roberto stood up to move on. "One piece in the folder, Lily," he said. "How are you feeling?"

She considered this. "Sad," she said. A few months ago, she would have never believed she would say that, but it was true. Would next year be the same without the seniors? He and Kelsey moved out, and Keith and Mary moved into the row. "You know what I was thinking?" she asked Keith, who shrugged.

"We can't see behind those lights, right?" she said. Keith nodded; the stage lights were truly blinding. Kelsey had brought sunscreen and sunglasses to a rehearsal as a joke. "Well, there could be a hypothetical man with a gun standing in the second row. He would kill us all before we could see him. And none of the parents or anything would be able to see, because it's pitch black on that side of the lights." It was irrational, and probably paranoid, but Lily was very concerned about this. She had been since she played her first concert at North in 7th grade.

"Theoretically," Keith said, "the people in the first row would die sooner, and we'd have time to escape. So say good bye to Mr. Locke." Lily giggled. This was something only Keith would understand.

Caprice Italien (AN: for those of you who don't know this song, it is spelled this way) was a Tchaikovsky piece, Opus 45. It was a mix of Italian street songs the composer had written on his trip to Italy. Roberto had talked about his grandmother singing along while he practiced. Mr. Locke shared this with the audience who laughed. As the concert continued, the mood got more relaxed. The piece changed key and time often, but was manageable. The only real problem was in a few of the 1/16th note triplet runs. Since the piece had originally been written for orchestra, clarinets had inherited the violin parts. Lily wasn't thrilled, but the song was good. It had been one of her favorites.

As soon as he left, Roberto was back. Lily hadn't moved from her seat yet. Amanda joined them at the second part. They didn't talk much, because Mr. Locke was starting to move quickly. Lily didn't like A Dakota Rhapsody very much. The parts were either too fast or too slow, usually being the latter. Sometimes she didn't have enough air. She did mess up a rhythm in one measure. Roberto had bobbed his head to get her back on track, which she did after one measure. "Sorry," she whispered while they moved to the third part. "I guess I'm not good enough yet."

"Nonsense," Roberto said, shaking his head. "By your junior year, you'll be able to play anything you need to perfectly with hardly any work. You're great, you just need a little more experience. Lily smiled as she pulled out the next piece. Dialouges was a piece written for a band accompanying a sax quartet. This year's sax section was phenomenal. They really deserved to be featured, especially since the alto, tenor, and bari were graduating. On the down side, they didn't get to play as much. On the bright side, Lily hadn't needed to practice nearly that much. Mr. Locke hadn't truly let the saxes go with the cadenzas during rehearsal, and they were a lot longer than she had thought. Lily was quite bored. When the song was over, Roberto said, "There's one more song in the folder. And this is where I bid you farewell, Lily. I'll catch up with you later." He walked back into the front row, and Lily stayed where she was.

The band took a quick break, but it was a funny break. The percussion feature was a tropical piece, so the french horns brought tropical hats, and the trumpets had sunglasses. Both sections were dancing with a remarkable amount of coordination.

The next piece was about Nostradamus, the French prophet who had been shunned for his unorthodox medical treatment ideas. Lily, Inez, and Suzanne had learned about him in Change and Revolution. They were pretty surprised when they heard his name and related it to the song. It was an easy song, but many portions were in minor keys before switching to major ones. Some parts had hard fingers (including a trill Lily had found practically impossible to play). It was another of Lily's favorites. She loved the aggressiveness in the song, and the occasional narratives that certain members could always make funny.

Before the last piece, Mr. Locke took a moment to acknowledge all the graduating seniors. Some seemed close to tears. It seemed so far away to Lily, but it would happen soon.

The last piece, Prime Time Toon Revue, was purely for fun. It had been played during the tour, and was now the concert closer. It contained the themes from Family Guy, King of the Hill, American Dad, and the Simpsons. Lily was not a jazz person, so it had taken some practice to learn how to swing, but she'd had that piece since Symphonic Band (all bands played this one), so she'd had time to learn it.

And just like that, they took a bow, and were done. Lily grabbed the stand, her folder, and her chair to walk back into the band room. Emma Lissa joined her.

Nate, upon meeting the younger percussion, asked if she practiced nearly as much as Lily. When Emma Lissa said she did, he claimed the whole percussion section was screwed, which made Emma Lissa giggle her identical laugh to Lily's. Roberto, Bailey, Roberto, and a trumpet nick-named Woody hung around for a while. Roberto and Woody, in the spirit of Caprice Italien, simulated a mob hit. Kristin talked about her extremely high heels, which they had nicknamed "hooker heals". Bailey tried them on, but Lily refused to permit Emma Lissa a turn. There were hugs, congratulations, and wishes of luck passed around.

In the car, Lily came to terms with what had happened that night. It was over, she realized. Everything was really all over.

* * *

AN: As was last time, I made the concert list from songs I've either played or listened to. They are all real songs, and I do not claim to own them in any way. PM me for a list of composers or YouTube links if you're interested. This stories getting close to being done. Lily thinks it's over, but it's not! Only four more chapters! Review and I'll be tempted to write faster (or update, since I already have the next chapter written).


	12. Band Staff

"Band Staff applications are on the stand," Mr. Locke said. "Any freshman, sophomore, or junior who is interested can take a packet. They are due to Roberto by Friday." Lily's ears perked up. Band Staff was the leadership committee of the band. Roberto was the president, Amanda was a librarian (students responsible for music throughout the year), and Kelsey was a secretary (responsible for the people in band). Lily had thought it would be fun to be able to help the band. She was under the impression it was only for students who would be juniors and seniors in the fall, but maybe not. She decided to apply. She really had nothing to lose. If she wasn't elected, she could always try again next year.

She took the packet at lunch, filling out sections where she knew the answers. Name, instrument, previous leadership experience. Position applying for. Should she be secretary, in charge of attendance and band members? Or how about librarian, taking care of all the music? Both librarians were leaving this year (Amanda was graduating, Alexa was running for president). The last choice was treasurer, in charge of band funds. She debated between secretary and librarian before settling for librarian. Then there was an essay. She tackled it that night at home. "Why should you be in band staff?"

In her opening paragraph, she talked about her first slice of high school band life, band camp. She wrote about what it was like to see the talented and successful staff members, and the fear that goes with that first day. Then she talked about joining Wind Ensemble, and how hard she worked to prove herself. She thought that the Band Staff and section leader program worked, but there was a flaw that year. There were no freshman or sophomores in the staff. They lost the perspective from more than half the band. Lily felt it was important to represent all groups. She closed by thanking Roberto for considering her application, and promised to be dedicated to the program if elected.

The next morning, she gave it to him before school. He gave her a hard, thoughtful look, and said, "All right. I'll read it right now." Lily's eyes opened wide. She really hadn't thought about him reading it that much. What if she said something stupid. When he saw her fear, he amended his statement. "I'm just kidding. I'll check it out in math." She couldn't tell if he was serious or joking, and wasn't sure what to say. She went to sit back down and help John through his geometry.

* * *

She turned in her application Tuesday. Elections were the next Wednesday. Each band member was given a sheet with the names of each person applying for each position. They circled the name of the person they voted for. Alexa handed a copy to Lily. "Good luck," she whispered. Lily smiled, and wished her the same. Lily had talked to Alexa a lot lately. She was a junior flute with big ideas for the band. She had always been kind to Lily, since her first day. She even told a trumpet who voted earlier that morning (physics classes were taking a field trip to an amusement park to "study") that he should vote for her for librarian. Lily would love Alexa to be president. There was just one problem.

The other candidate was Kelsey. She knew Alexa was the better choice, she really believed it. But Kelsey was a clarinet, and she had been told it was always important to stick up for clarinets. She scanned her election sheet.

There was only one candidate for secretary: a trumpet named Rachel. Lily was glad she hadn't run for secretary because everyone loved the junior. She would have lost easily. Lily circled her name. It was the only choice.

Treasurer was between two people: her sax friend John (who was also a freshman, she noted with a plus), and her really tall horn friend named Benjamin, a sophomore. That was really hard. As much as she liked both of them, she had to admit Benjamin had more experience. She circled his name slowly, hoping she wouldn't regret it.

Then were the librarians. Because Amanda and Alexa were so experienced, Mr. Locke was allowing four librarians. Four! But there were five people running. Her, three sophomores, and another freshman. The sophomores included a flute in Symphonic Band who was her neighbor, a horn from Wind Ensemble, and a trumpet that had switched at the semester like her. The freshman was her friend Jane. She liked everyone running. "Can I vote for myself?" she asked Mary, who nodded. She circled her name, and the horn and flute. As much as she like Jane, she knew she had exaggerated and made stuff up in her essay. And from the conversation around her, no one knew who Jane was (Alexa had asked her to wave a few times, but people knew her, even if they didn't know her name). No one was voting for her. And Jane had been angry lately, Lily tried to justify. She had been angry at Lily a few times for no reason. Was she the best person for Staff? Lily asked herself. She, again, slowly circled the name of the trumpet.

That just left the president, as all other roles were appointed by Mr. Locke, such as drum major (the auditions for which took place the week before), drum captain, pit captain, and jazz manager. Lily looked at Alexa. Was it the right thing to do? Then she turned to Kelsey. Kelsey was watching her intently. So, she noticed, was Mary. She knew what she had to do. She circled Kelsey's name, and went to Mr. Locke, handing in her paper. She caught a glimpse of the tally sheet. She was second for librarian, with the trumpet first and Jane last, but, she also noticed, they were all close.

That day at lunch, she filled out a second and third ballot when Mr. Locke wasn't there. She probably wouldn't be considered if he caught her, but she had to get a vote for Alexa. Alexa should have been the true president.

* * *

Lily was extremely amused Thursday night during the Band Banquet. It wasn't as much of a banquet as a bunch of band kids sitting in a gym to get awards, both real and student awarded, but at least half the band was there. Band Staff was going to be announced. All night, people had gone up to Lily and told her they'd voted for her. Lily thanked them all, but she was still nervous. After all, she told Kelsey she voted for her.

She took a seat near the front with her friends Janie, Nate, and Jeff. The clarinets were split across the room, Roberto and Amanda with the Band Staff seniors who had set up the event and were sorting through student voted awards, Kelsey and Bailey were sitting together with some of the best juniors in band, Kristin was with her boyfriend, Mary wasn't going, and Keith was MIA. Jeff was trying to call him, since the two were best friends.

To start the awards, Mr. Locke called all the seniors to line up on stage. She and Janie cheered on Nate and Jeff, and she also cheered for Roberto and Amanda. First, a saxophone and percussionist she didn't know very well were given a military leadership award. This award was designed for the people who did the work, even if they weren't always in the limelight like Roberto was. Lily listened, but not intently. She was nervous about Band Staff. She recognized the Colonel as the Marine who had come to tell them about military band a few weeks ago. She had talked to Mary during that time, because they still had a lot of time before college or professional musicianship.

Then, Mr. Locke talked a little about each senior, and their contributions to the program. Though it wasn't official, he seemed to go in order of importance, from least to most important. The first clarinet called was Keith, who had run in literally seconds before in a full suit (later, he told Lily that when he had heard banquet, he thought formal). "Keith, as you know, transferred from Maryland two years ago. Since then, he has been a great player in Wind Ensemble. He has a knack for puns, and talks a little too much." Everyone laughed, but it was true.

The next clarinet Mr. Locke mentioned was Amanda. "She really gets everything done," he said. "And she's really bossy. You know, she'll come up and give me papers that need to be copied, and then take them back, saying 'I'll do it myself'. But when she really wants to do something, she'll get it done. This program wouldn't be nearly as organized without her, which is saying something because it's a mess." He went on a little, slipping in some jabs about her being bossy, but Lily could have told anyone that. The last, of course, was Roberto.

Roberto was the last one announced overall, signifying his utmost importance. "Roberto," Mr. Locke said. "Where do I even begin?" He talked a lot about Roberto's accomplishments and dedication to the program, and recognized him for his Band Staff presidency. To end, he gave out an award. "Roberto received the MVP award this year. This was given to him by the band, who voted on the senior who really did the most." Lily remembered that ballot. She wasn't voting for Amanda, Keith was left off for some reason, and since Kristin said that instruments usually voted for their own section (sectional obligation) Lily circled Roberto's name.

"This really means a lot to me," he said taking the plaque. Mr. Locke dismissed the seniors, and the Band Staff came up. "We really want to thank you too, Mr. Locke," he said. "So, we made this card." It was a thank you note every member of the band had signed. It was completely full of ink. "And, this," he said, handing Mr. Locke a mug. It said, "Number 1 Dad." Lily was surprised Mr. Locke didn't start crying. The Dad thing was a joke started by some of the juniors and seniors. They joked about everything. If one person of the band got a privilege, it was sibling favoritism; if they needed music, they asked for allowance. But Mr. Locke truly was like a father in many ways. He probably knew more about Lily than her own father.

"And we see the Band Staff up here," he said, pointing to the various members around him. "But tonight, a new Staff is coming in. They were also voted on during band. To start, I don't think I need to say Rachel is the secretary." Everyone laughed at her unopposed run. Mr. Locke announced the drum majors, the drum captain and pit captain as voted on by percussion, and the jazz managers. "Next was the treasurer race. Drew and Benjamin both received a lot of votes, but in the end, John will be your new treasurer!" John got a lot of cheers. Lily reached back two rows to give him a high-five.

"Next are the librarians," he said. Alexa told Lily that since there were 4 people running for 5 spots, Mr. Locke was considering just putting them all in. "First on the list, and a new librarian, is Ms. Lily leLontre!" She was shocked, she leaned back in her seat in relief. She did it! She was only vaguely aware of hugs, high-fives, and cheers coming her way. Mr. Locke announced the other librarians. The trumpet, the horn, and the flute. No Jane. Alexa was wrong, and Jane had told Lily to tell her the results of the elections. How was she supposed to do that now?

"But the most interesting race this year," Mr. Locke continued, as the room fell silent. "Was the president race. It was extremely close." Lily had asked Alexa what would happen if she lost. Alexa said she could ask to be vice president, as most people did. But they both knew how that would end up. Kelsey wouldn't do any work if elected. She would get the bare minimum done two days before band camp. And if Alexa tried to organize something, she would be accused of taking Kelsey's job. She crossed her fingers, and looked from Kelsey to Alexa, Kelsey, Mr. Locke, Alexa.

"The winner, and president of the 21010-2011 Band Staff is. . .Alexa!" A large portion of the band screamed. Lily jumped up and down for Alexa, as most of the band was on their feet. She was so happy! Everything was perfect, except for Jane's lost. She looked for Kelsey, but Nate was too tall and blocked her view. "Congratulations to our new Band Staff!" Mr. Locke shouted, but no one listened.

"Next," Roberto said, speaking into the microphone, "We have awards that were voted on by you guys. For each award, there's a male and female winner. So, if you hear your name, just come up and then get back to your seat, because we have a lot." Four seniors lined up with piles of half-sheet certificates.

Some of the awards were serious, some joking. The percussion section had gotten together and voted for the same person for best freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior, both boy and girl. Winners in each of those eight categories were all part of their section. Roberto received a number of music-related ones, such as most likely to be successful. Bailey was "most blond" and Kelsey and Roberto were voted "band gossip". Kristin was voted "best dressed", and Kieth and Amanda were "most enthusiastic marcher". And, to Lily's astonishment, she won an award, too!

"Most quiet, female winner," Roberto said, "Is Lily leLontre!" Everyone clapped, as with every award, and Lily felt herself blush as she went up on the stage. "Am I really that quiet?" she asked Roberto.

"WHAT?" he shouted. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU, LILY!" She sat back down, but Roberto was laughing. It was all good.

* * *

Later, Lily was talking with the clarinets. No one seemed too happy about Alexa being the president.

"I can't believe her!" Kelsey said. "How could she win?"

"I know," Roberto agreed. "She's crazy. Oh, and by the way, congratulations Lily."

"Thanks," she said, but it didn't feel like victory. Soon the clarinets started talking about going to Steak and Shake, for old times' sake. No one asked Lily, even though she was right there. Instead, she caught a ride with Jeff.

She was excited, however. Alexa had told her to get ready. It was going to be a very busy summer.

* * *

AN: Being a section leader or staff member is tough. This is my first year doing it, and it's really a lot of work. So. The year's coming to a close. Next chapter, be ready to say good bye to the seniors. As always, I love reviews!


	13. Suddenly

_She feels lost in her own life_  
_ Treading water just to keep from slipping under_  
_ And she wonders if she's where she's supposed to be_

Lily knew that there was one major factor that was preventing her from leveling the playing field with the clarinets. That was her, well, her clarinet. Lily knew her plastic Selmer she'd had since 5th grade wasn't good, but she loved it more than anything. She'd made it to District and Honors band in middle school, and, hey, she'd even gotten to Wind Ensemble. But everyone else had a wooden model. Kristin had an Andino, Keith had a Vito, Kelsey had a Yamaha, and Mary and Bailey both had Selmers. Roberto and Amanda, however, had Buffets. Roberto even had an R13! That was Lily's dream clarinet. It was perfect! Only other clarinerds would understand. Her lesson teacher had been pushing for a R13 since 7th grade, and even Mr. Locke was starting to push her.

She felt out of place. She couldn't always hit the high notes in tune, and she knew she needed a new clarinet. But her mom didn't think she needed one yet, no matter how much she begged or how many emails were sent between the adults.

_Tired of trying to do it right_  
_ Her dreams are just to far away to see how steps she's making_  
_ Might be taking her to who she'll be_

Her mom finally gave in. She didn't expect to get her dream clarinet. She was trying different clarinets, and her mom didn't really think she needed a professional clarinet. She had said straight out- no R13.

She went to a clarinet store specializing in Buffet clarinets. She had her reed and mouthpiece, and tried at least 20 different models. But she kept going back to one. Finally, her mom asked the salesperson. "What model is that?"

"A R13," she replied. "It's truthfully the best model there is. I highly recommend it." Lily's face fell.

But the sound was perfect.

_And suddenly it isn't what it used to be_  
_ And after all this time it worked out just fine_  
_ And suddenly I am where I'm supposed to be_  
_ And after all the tears I was supposed to be here_

Somehow, the saleswoman convinced Lily's mom to let her get the R13. Lily practiced 4 hours that day, and 4 the next.

"Lillian!" Mr. Locke called out during lunch that Monday. "Did you get the new clarinet?" Lily jumped upon hearing her name, and nodded enthusiastically. "Well, let's see!" Lily raced into the instrument room to get her new pride and joy. "Nice," he said, looking it over. "Do you like it?" Lily nodded earnestly.

"It's perfect," she said, completely sincerely. Mr. Locke laughed.

"That might be pushing it a little," he said. But she was serious.

_ She feels locked in her own life_  
_ Scared of what she might lose if she moves away from who she was_  
_ And she's afraid of being free_

"So, Lily," Roberto asked. "How's that new clarinet working out for you? R13, right?" She nodded.

"It's perfect," she said. He laughed.

"Really is a nice model, isn't it? Just wait. You and that clarinet- you'll come out on top next year." Lily wasn't sure she wanted to come out on top. What was wrong with being a lowly freshman (or sophomore) like her? She didn't mind taking a backseat. That was just who she was.

_There's a way she knows is right_  
_ But she can't feel the things she knows_  
_ And so each step she's taking is a step of faith toward who she'll be_

Lily's practicing with her new clarinet was so much better. Her squeaks were far less frequent- almost entirely nonexistent. But that didn't mean she was ready for anything yet, until Roberto brought up the clarinet again.

"Don't worry about next fall's auditions," he said. "You'll totally beat Mary and Bailey and Kristin. You have a R13." Lily's eyes narrowed.

"But just because I have a better clarinet doesn't mean anything. They'll still beat me if they're better," she explained. "Which they are."

"Which they aren't," Roberto interjected. "Besides, you're the one who cares. Do me a favor. Beat them. Oh, and make Bailey cry." Lily's eyes widened suddenly. What was he thinking?

"Make Bailey cry?" she repeated. "I can't do that!" No matter how Bailey treated her, she was still her friend. She could never do that to her.

Roberto shrugged. "She did when I beat her. It won't be hard. She won't practice all summer, I bet. You'll practice every day. You have this audition in the bag."

Lily's mind was still back in the whole "Make Bailey cry" sentence. Never would she do anything to make Bailey cry!

_ And suddenly it isn't what it used to be_  
_ And after all this time it worked out just fine_  
_ And suddenly I am where I'm supposed to be_  
_ And after all the tears I was supposed to be here_

Lily had taken out her old plastic clarinet one night to practice. And that's when she understood.

She didn't sound horrible. Other than the tone, she didn't even sound that bad. Sure, her altissimo register notes could have had better intonation, but she was doing well. Which made her wonder why she felt so much better about playing when she had her R13. Yeah, the clarinet was bad. But that wasn't 100% of the problem.

It was her.

Lily's Selmer had caused her to lose confidence. She didn't think she was capable of playing anything, when in reality, it was only partially the clarinet's fault. The R13 had helped her sound better, so she missed the things she could do right. Fingers. Notes. Rhythms. Articulations.

Yeah, the R13 helped the quality of the sound. But that real genius when it came to clarinet? That was Lily.

_ And here where the night is darkest black_  
_ She feels the fear and the light is farthest back_  
_ And through her tears she can't see the dawn is coming_  
_ Skies will clear and the light will find her where she's always been._

Roberto told her that if she beat Bailey, she would cry. That's what had happened the year before. Lily wasn't sure she was comfortable with that. She and Bailey used to be good friends. Until Wind Ensemble, that was. Until Bailey decided that impressing everyone was so much better than being friends with everyone (not that she didn't have friends- she just only cared about the important ones).

But then, Lily thought, as she practiced, she wanted to beat someone, whether it be Bailey, Mary, Kristin, or a combination of the three.

Roberto told her to do it. Locke told her to do it. Right then and there, in the middle of her practice session, Lily decided she was going to be the best. She just hoped Bailey wouldn't really cry.

_

* * *

_AN: This one was a bit more of a story! I'm coming closer and closer till the end. If I remember right, I'm completely done with writing the last two chapters. Then I just have to upload!


	14. Graduation

It was hard to believe, but it was the end of the year at North. That meant the seniors were graduating, which meant it was time to say good bye to Roberto, Amanda, and Keith. In Lily's opinion, they were the three reasons the section had stuck together so long. 1- Roberto kept them together musically. 2- Amanda gave them someone to be angry towards together (though Lily wasn't so sure that was a good thing). 3- Keith kept the mood light and everyone laughing. Lily was astounded to think she was really going to miss them. They had come a long way. Next year, they would do the same for Kristin and Kelsey. Then Mary and Bailey, the year after that. And then- well, it wasn't so far into the future that Lily would graduate too.

She was really going to miss them. They were like a family to Lily, their own dysfunctional, twisted family. Roberto and Amanda were like divorced parents: always in charge, and constantly fighting with each other. Keith was the fun uncle who let them get away with anything, and usually helped. Kristin and Kelsey were reliable older sisters, and Bailey and Mary were twins. As for Lily, she was the baby of the group. But they were her family, and she like them no matter what kinds of crazy things they did.

In band, seniors were excused from rehearsing the songs to be played. That left Bailey and Kristin on the first part, Mary and Lily, on second, and Kelsey on third (during graduation, she would be joined by the top player from Symphonic Band). Lily knew that even though Bailey and Kristin had beat Mary in the past, it was unfair to have them sitting in front of her. Mary had earned her spot.

The seniors did stay for parts of rehearsals: to practice the senior song, which they would play as a group at graduation. Roberto, Amanda, and Keith played first, second, and third respectively. Rehearsals were easy, but it wasn't as much fun to play without the seniors. Lily was glad she got to spend more time with Mary, however. Kesley had ligament damage on her left foot, so when she left early, Lily took her folder. She was still doing everything she could for the section.

The only interesting day was when the trumpets decided they wanted to play Music from the Incredibles, a piece that was in the Grad Band folders, but wasn't on the list of songs. "Pretty, please?" begged a junior called Woody. Mr. Doorbell, the former student teacher was there that day. Mr. Doorbell wasn't his real name, but Roberto had started calling him that during marching. Lily wasn't sure she remembered his real name. Mr. Doorbell made a compromise.

"One more run through of this piece, and then we can play it until the bell." There were only four minutes left in the period, but they could still play. It was some of the best playing and most fun they'd had in Grad Band. No one heard the bell ring. Mr. Doorbell ended up writing a pass for each class, not each individual person. Lily was the only one in her Spanish class, so she got her own pass. Inside, she gave it to her teacher (who was used to getting many passes for Lily coming in late from band after arguing with Mr. Locke).

"Maria," she said, using Lily's Spanish name. "¡Tú está muy feliz!" Lily grinned. Her teacher was used to seeing her close to tears when she came in late. Lily had taken her by surprise.

"¡Sí!" she shouted happily, sitting down and taking out her homework (which she had done in the band room the day before).

* * *

Graduation was Lily's first Band Staff job. She arrived early to help Alexa and the new staff set up the field. She was still yawning when she walked into the band room. Of course, there was no time to sleep. She was given a stand rack to push out to the field. She and the other staff members scrambled for a good two hours setting up chairs and stands, and putting out folders with clothespins to keep music from flying also had to set up chairs with labels for seniors. It was a long job.

Mr. Locke had to go to his son's graduation, and would not be able to attend. He left Mr. Doorbell in charge, giving him only the scores and a badly drawn seating chart. It definitely confused Lily. Back in the band room, the Staff had some time before the rest of the band arrived. They played Uno.

"Uno!" Lily shouted again.

"I hate you, Lily!" shouted Jake, the new junior drum major. But in a few turns, Lily was up to 5 cards.

Later, Amanda ran into her while setting her clarinet up. She was wearing her yellow robe, and seemed nicer today. "Excuse me for being curious," she said, "But what are you guys doing for tradition this year?" Lily's face went blank. Her brow furrowed as she thought. Tradition, tradition, no, she couldn't think of anything. "What tradition?" she finally asked.

"Oh, they must not have discussed this yet," Amanda said. "Well, every year, when they call out the name of someone in band, their section plays something short. A few notes, maybe a trill. The thing is, band kids get the last laugh. Athletes are the powerful ones during the year, but they can't throw balls or tackle people during graduation. So band kids always get to leave the impression." Lily nodded. This sounded kind of fun. Amanda left abruptly, and Lily went to join the rest of the clarinets.

Everyone was seated in the 100-degree heat, when Lily noticed there was a problem. "Kelsey, Kristin?" she asked to the people nearest her. "Where's Keith's clarinet?" They did double-takes, and then Mary and Bailey joined them.

"I don't know," Kristin said. "I thought it was out here!" All five girls dropped their sandals at their seats and sprinted barefoot towards the building in their dresses and skirts. Inside the band room, they shouted Keith's name. He turned from the computer where he had been talking to a tuba player to shout "Here!" just as loudly. The girls stopped, and put their hands on their knees to steady themselves. "Keith!" Lily managed to say. "We're starting! Where's your clarinet?" His expression changed instantly.

"Oh!" He ran into the instrument room to get his case, then ran out, setting it up quickly. Lily had just grabbed it, and they were headed out the back door when Roberto came in. "Keith? Where are you?" It turned out he was late all around.

Back outside, the band played 4 pieces. They were all movie medleys, and really easy in Lily's opinion. But some of the concert band members were dragging them down. They weren't as loud, but sounded twice as good in Wind Ensemble. Then Mr. Doorbell cued Pomp and Circumstance.

The graduating class had over a 1000 people, so they played for a very long time. Lily was bored and tired of playing. One by one, seniors crossed the field and took their spots with the band to prepare the senior song. Keith sat down next to Kelsey, and picked up his clarinet to warm up. When they stopped, he whispered, "I'm probably the only person who's every played their own graduation procession." Amanda sat next to Mary and Lily, and Roberto by Bailey and Kristin.

The senior song, entitled American Celebration, was kind of sad. There were a lot of triplets, which Lily usually loved, but today, they dragged. It was the last day! After the song ended, Roberto, Amanda, and Keith stood up. Silently, they walked to their seats in the group of senior. All the clarinets were sad, but not like the ones from Wind Ensemble. Bailey was rubbing her eyes. Kristin was pushing random keys on her clarinet so she didn't have to watch them walk away. Kelsey watched them leave, while Mary looked at the ground. Lily watched everyone at once.

Once the speeches started, they temporarily forgot about the seniors leaving. Lily had put on sunscreen of SPF 50 when she arrived in the morning, but none of clarinets who arrived later had. Bailey had brought a bottle, but it was SPF 8. They all applied it liberally, especially since the abnormal heat had them wearing skimpy dress and tank tops. It was so hot, the sunscreen bottle had practically melted. Lily touched the stand, and yanked her hand back because it burned. Lily was glad she hadn't brought out her new wooden clarinet.

Mary kept playing with the clothespins on the stand, and the two halves would fall apart. She would sheepishly give them to Lily to try to fix them, which she did saying, "Don't break them anymore!" Mary of course, continued to do so.

When they started calling names for diplomas, all band members watched the program. Lily had been the only clarinet to grab one, so she and the other Wind Ensemble clarinets planned what to play for the seniors.

"We should do something special for Roberto, since he's section leader and all," Kristin suggested. Lily nodded in agreement, and slowly, everyone joined her. They decided to play the short opening bars to Music from the Incredibles.

"Let's do something smaller for Keith and Amanda," Bailey said.

"A trill," Kelsey suggested. They agreed, and started to choose the kind of trill to play.

"Let's make it minor," Lily said. "And obnoxiously high-pitched. Like Eb to E?"

"That's going to be fun," Mary said. They passed the word throughout the section, and made sure every clarinet knew what they were doing. Lily was excited.

Keith's name was called first, as his last name started with C. For a few people in front of him, the clarinets waited with anticipation, clarinets up, watching Lily's list. When he was finally announced, they went wild, playing the annoying trill as loud as possible. It was only a few seconds long, but long enough for Keith to hear and know it was for him. After that, they had a wait. Roberto and Amanda both had last names beginning with M.

When Roberto was finally called, they played the two measure section. Since no one but the Wind Ensemble clarinets had played it before, no one managed to get it out but the five of them. They were loud, but other names were being called. Roberto told them later that he hadn't heard anything except the other graduates around him.

Amanda was a little harder. When the class president flipped to the next page of graduate names, he skipped ahead into the P's. He apologized for his mistake and went back to the M's, but in doing so, he skipped Amanda's name and went on to the next person. When he apologized again, and announced Amanda, the clarinets went nuts one last time. It was the same trill they played for Keith, but the feeling behind it was different. Keith's was lighter, whereas Amanda's had more of an accented quality. Lily wasn't sure why she thought that since it was only two seconds, but she did. They had to wait a long time afterward for the rest of the names, and then they played the recessional.

Mr. Locke, being the geek he was, chose to have the Jedi March from Star Wars as the recessional. There was a clarinet soli section in there, which made Lily excited. She had never seen Star Wars, however. Mr. Locke called the clarinets on not being able to play it. "Haven't you guys heard this before?" he shouted. Lily shook her head, he rolled his eyes, and made a "loser" symbol on his forehead that made Lily, along with the rest of the clarinets, giggle. When you have an all-female clarinet section, there's a lot more giggling going on.

After the song ended, the graduates threw their caps into the air, green and gold mixing. Lily watched with awe. It looked just like it did in pictures. Then, the graduates slowly made their way to friends and family. Band geeks, of course, when straight toward the band.

The first person Lily saw was Nate. He gave her a bone-crushing hug. "You're going to squish me," she muttered. When he backed off to give her time to breathe, she asked, "Am I ever going to see you again?" That was Lily's biggest fear about graduation. She didn't know if she'd ever see her friends again.

"Of course," he said. "I'm not done creeping on you." Lily giggled, and ran off towards the clarinet section. She found Amanda first, who was trying not to cry. They hugged, which only made Amanda try even harder.

"I've bequeathed all my Math Decathlon notes to Tom," she said, naming another member of the team and the newly promoted senior drum major. "Good luck with being a librarian. Do you have my number?" Lily shook her head. The only numbers of people in the clarinet section she had were Bailey, Mary, and Keith. "Well, get it from Jane or Janie or someone. I'm really going to miss you." Lily doubted that. She thought Amanda was just being rather nostalgic. She later learned that neither Jane nor Janie had her number, but she didn't need Amanda's help to run the library. If she had questions, she would ask Alexa.

She wandered over to where Roberto was saying good bye to Mary and Bailey. "Come on, Mary," he said. "That was the most awkward hug ever. Let's try that again." She blushed. "Sorry." They hugged again, and it was actually a normal hug that time. Then Roberto turned to Lily, and they hugged as well. Lily was sure she was hugging more people that day than she had her whole freshman year.

"Bye, Roberto," she said. He gave her an offended look.

"What?" he asked. "Do you want to see me again?" Lily shrugged. "I don't know," she said. He looked even more offended, so she expanded her sentence.

"Yeah, I want to see you, but without pressure. Not to perform together or anything, at least, not for a very long time. But for fun." He nodded. He understood. Lily's gazed followed the crowd until she found Keith. She gave him a hug too, just to complete her daily tally.

"I'm going to miss you, Keith," she said. She was going to miss Keith most of all, even though she hung out with him a lot with a large group of assorted friends.

"Hey," he demanded. "Don't think that way. We're still going to hang out. After all, we still haven't had our last clarinet meeting." Lily perked up. She didn't have to say good bye forever just yet.

* * *

AN: This is a bit of a shout-out to the clarinets in my band who graduated last year. Al, Kev, Abs, I'm really going to miss you guys this year! In case you need a translation of the Spanish, Lily's teacher said that Lily was happy, and she said yes, she was. I didn't go into a lot of the music details in this chapter because they didn't matter. The important part was that it was time to say good bye. One more chapter left. I can't believe it. How do the clarinets choose to end the year? Will it be on a good note, or will everyone be upset? Review please, and I'll grant the next chapter a little quicker (it's already written, after all).


	15. Clarinet Party

_I swear_, Keith texted, _if we don't have this clarinet party, I'll do. . .something._

They had discussed the clarinet party many times in the section. Lily liked the idea, but it made her nervous. It had been a really long semester. _I'm free, _she texted back. Plans changed many times. The date was a Saturday, two weeks after school got out. They had originally planned on going to a movie, but Mary, Bailey, and Kristin all rejected the idea. Kelsey wasn't able to go. Amanda hadn't been invited (If we run into her, Lily had told Keith, it will be really awkward). Instead, they planned on meeting at a local diner-type restaurant, and taking things from there. Everyone's schedules were flexible.

Lily's mom had dropped her off, causing her to arrive about half an hour early. She took a seat on a bench in the entryway, and looked outside, waiting anxiously. The hostess kept giving her looks that clearly said "order something, or get out" but Lily ignored her. After a semester of Wind Ensemble, she wasn't really scared of regular people. Finally, she saw Keith's red minivan. She walked outside.

Keith had parked, and was talking to Kristin, who had just arrived, when Lily reached them. "Hi!" she said. Keith raised a finger to his lips. "Shh." Lily's brow furrowed. Kristin put a hand over her mouth to cover her laughing. He walked to another car, ducking beneath the window and jumping out. The girls in the car screamed. It was Mary and Bailey. Keith wasn't that creepy, to sneak up on people he didn't even know.

Mary and Bailey were both wearing sunglasses, and they had matching shorts. "We went shopping together," Mary explained. "Hey, where's Roberto?"

"There," Keith pointed, just as he drove in. Roberto looked angry. He parked next to Keith, and joined the gaggle of clarinets.

"I went to pick you up, but your brother said you'd already left!" he shouted at Kristin, who shrugged. "He's not very social."

"I didn't need a ride. Only if my brakes weren't working. They are, but they're making funny noises. Sorry, I forgot to tell you," she explained. "Well, we're all here. Let's go." They went into the restaurant, and were seated.

"Welcome to It's About Time!" a perky waitress greeted them. "Would anyone like any drinks besides water?" she asked as she handed out menus. Keith ordered Coke, but everyone else sipped their water and discussed what food to order.

"I'll have a bacon cheeseburger," ordered Keith.

"How about," Roberto thought. "A slice of banana cream pie?" Only half the clarinets planned on having normal meals.

"We'll have the Loveboat ice cream thing," Mary said, while Bailey added, "Two spoons!" They both laughed, but the waitress acted normal. She had probably seen many strange things in her career.

"I'll have a plain hamburger," Kristin ordered. Lily nodded.

"I'll have a plain hamburger, too." The waitress took their menus, and the clarinets started talking. Keith sat on one end of the six person table. On his left were Mary and Bailey, and on his right was Roberto. Next to him was Kristin, and Lily was directly across from him. They told stories about rocks.

"Yellow slugbuggy!" Mary suddenly shouted, punching Bailey. They all laughed, and Mary repeated it many times throughout the meal. Bailey couldn't believe there were that many yellow Volkswagens out, but Lily knew her secret. There was one parked at a lot across the street.

Their food came quickly, and they ate (they were, after all, teenagers). "That's my cherry!" Bailey shouted at Mary. Apparently, the Loveboat wasn't perfect. Whenever the waitress came back, Keith got into a conversation with her. "You are a creep," Roberto said. Keith shrugged.

"I'm giving her a tip!" Roberto shook his head.

"I bet he talks to telemarketers, too," Lily muttered. Suddenly, everyone, even Keith was laughing. She smiled in spite of herself.

While waiting to pay, Kristin left to use the bathroom. Keith and Roberto started plotting. "Lily, you hold my pie, okay?" asked Keith, handing her the extra slice he had gotten to take home. Lily nodded, taking the box. The two disappeared. Lily got bored standing and waiting, so she joined Mary and Bailey who were raiding the toy chest. "Where'd Keith and Roberto go?" Kristin asked, suddenly appearing. Mary and Bailey looked up, clearly not noticing they were gone. Lily shrugged.

"But they left the pie, so it couldn't have been that important," she said. They showed up, and the six walked into the parking lot to continue talking. Eventually, Roberto pointed out that they were loitering.

"We shouldn't stick around too much longer. Let's go somewhere. How about the playground at Boulder Ridge Elementary?" he suggested. Lily smiled. She loved playgrounds, even though she was fifteen. The other clarinets didn't seem to dislike the idea either.

"I have no clue where that is," Keith said. Lily rolled her eyes.

"We went there on the tour. It was right after lunch, remember? My mom was there, and that's where your own brother goes to school!" she said. Keith thought about this.

"Oh, yeah. I don't know where it is, though," he admitted. Roberto and Kristin, who were the oldest, gave him directions. "Whatever. I'll just follow Roberto." Mary and Bailey left in Bailey's car, while Roberto double and triple-checked with Keith that they could find where they were going. Roberto, Keith, and Kristin all turned to leave.

"Wait!" Lily spoke up. "I hate to say this, but I'm going to need a ride." All three turned back in unison. "Of course, you can't drive," Roberto said. Lily watched silently as they argued various things. "I've haven't had my license for a year," Keith said. "I can only have one passenger." Kristin reminded him Lily was only one person, at least last time she checked.

"Enough!" Roberto yelled. "Lily, you're coming with me. Let's go." He marched off towards his car. Kristin shrugged apologetically at Lily, and walked to the other section of the lot where her car was parked. "I'm a good driver," Roberto reassured her. "I've never had a ticket, or been in a crash." Lily got in his car. Her mom had the same model, she noticed. Roberto shouted something at Keith. "Follow me. I'll have the kid in my car!" Lily rolled her eyes. When Roberto started the car, she watched the passenger airbag light carefully. In her mom's car, she didn't always weigh enough to turn on the airbag. To her relief, the warning light was off. That would have been embarrassing.

"So," Roberto asked as he backed out. "Have you been practicing?" For some reason, he was always tracking Lily's practice record, but not anyone else's.

"Every day," she quickly said in defense. It was true.

"What have you been practicing?" Roberto asked, truly interested. "You're trying out for district band, right?" Lily nodded, even though he couldn't see her while driving.

"It's pretty tough, but it's good music. Etude 15 is pretty good, but 26 is a little tricky." Etude 15 was a slow, melodic and expressive piece with a challenging cadenza. Lily had mastered the notes in two days and could play it in her sleep. She was more focused on making it emotional, and paying attention to the nuances. On the other hand, Etude 26 was a challenging _Allegro Furioso_ piece in almost straight 1/16th notes. There were jumps, and Lily was frustrated with the piece.

"I thought I heard you practicing 26, " Roberto said. How often did he listen to her practicing? "That one is pretty hard. And how are your scales going? They almost killed me. If you can't ace your scales, they don't even consider you." Lily knew this. Roberto wasn't trying to be rude, he was being honest. She knew he regretted not making district or all-state that year.

On the drive to the playground, they managed to discuss a lot. Roberto gave Lily some really helpful tips about the auditions, and the music. Since it was on a three-year rotation, and he was three years older than Lily, they played the same audition for their sophomore year. He also told her about a clarinet player who also played flute and alto sax at a rival school. He had been asked to audition at Julliard, Roberto said. He also told her what Julliard was. Lily told him that she wasn't stupid.

They were pretty involved in a discussion about private lessons, when Roberto almost missed following Kristin's car into a turn towards the school. He swerved suddenly, apologizing to Lily. "Are you using a method book?" he continued. "Which one?"

"The Rubank one," she told him. When he didn't say anything, she assumed she needed to clarify. "Advanced Volume 1." He nodded. It was the most intelligent conversation about music Lily had ever had. Roberto pulled in at the school, and they climbed out of the car to join the other clarinets.

"I don't see this playground in question," Keith said.

"That's because it's not here," Lily said. "It's in the back." Lily's mom worked at Boulder Ridge, so she had been there lots of times while her mom was working. She'd gone to the playground to keep herself busy. Roberto had gone to the school, too, and both knew their way around pretty well.

"Then let's go!" Keith said. They walked out to the back, and immediately climbed onto things. Mary and Bailey ran to a strange version of monkey bars, while Kristin flipped around a metal gymnastics bar. Roberto climbed onto a bridge, Lily scaled a net, and Keith hopped over stepping stones.

"Let's play a game!" Mary said. "Sandman!"

"Lava Monster!" Keith alternately nominated. A debate went back and forth on the two games for a while. There were too many versions of Lava Monster for them to agree on, and Sandman just seemed like Lava Monster with your eyes closed to Lily. Roberto didn't want to run, so the game idea fell through. Keith, Roberto, and Kristin went to talk over by the monkey bars, while Mary and Bailey ran to the swings. Lily drifted in the middle, before deciding to join the older group. She went to the monkey bars, and hung upside down by her knees to observe the conversation. They were discussing the college application process. It was boring. "Wicked skill," Roberto said when he noticed her hanging. "Thanks," she muttered with effort as all the blood was in her head.

When it got too boring for her to stand, she hopped down and joined Mary and Bailey on the swings. Kristin followed her, Roberto and Keith behind her. They were all swinging for a while.

"You know what I haven't done for a while?" Kristin said. "Jump off a swing." Suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound to their right. Lily looked over, and found Keith lying on the ground, skid marks in the wood chips.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked as she dragged her feet to slow down. It was probably a rhetorical question, but she wanted to make sure Keith wasn't seriously hurt.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, climbing to his feet with Roberto's help. "I just heard Kristin talking about jumping off swings, and kind of did so myself. I didn't land very well." Roberto raised his eyebrows in a look that clearly said, "That's obvious."

A group of high schoolers on bikes went to their playground. Lily thought she recognized one of them as a sophomore flute. "Let's go to the other half of the playground," Roberto said.

"What other ha- oh!" Bailey exclaimed. They were on one side of the field, but past the grassy area was a smaller, separate playground. "Let's go! Race you!" she cried, and the clarinets took off at top speed, with the exception of Keith, who was kind of limping, and Roberto who was walking slowly. This half of the playground wasn't as exciting, so they climbed up on the platform, and sat down and talked.

"Well, Keith and I are going to have to go," Roberto said suddenly. Lily looked towards him abruptly. "One of our friends is having a graduation party. We'll stop in, but we won't stay long. Are you guys planning on staying here?" They discussed it, and decided they should go to someone's house before it got too dark and buggy. They couldn't go to Roberto's, Mary's, or Bailey's houses. Keith lived in a gated community, and his neighborhood was extremely annoying to get in and out of. Lily was fairly certain they could go to her house, but they would probably have to stay in her backyard. They decided to go to Kristin's house.

"Then we'll see you there around 9:30," Keith said as he and Roberto climbed down and left.

"So," Bailey said, "we got rid of the guys. Now what?" They giggled, and traded cell phone numbers.

They ended up talking until 8:30. Lily probably couldn't have told you a single topic they discussed, but she knew how happy she was in that moment. She had striven for acceptance from the clarinets all year. She just wanted to be one of the pack, like everyone else. Her wish had finally come true.

"Guys, let's go," Kristin said when the mosquitoes started to come out.

"Kristin?" Lily hesitantly asked. "Can I have a ride, please?" From hearing Kristin discuss directions with Keith and Roberto, she knew her house was close. She would walk if Kristin didn't give her a ride.

"Of course," Kristin said. Lily climbed into her little Volkswagen and buckled the seat belt. Whenever Kristin stopped, she winced. "See what I mean about the brake noises? They're really annoying. I'm scared I'm not going to be able to stop."

"Yeah," agreed Lily. The sounds were horrible, but Kristin stopped whenever she tried to, so the car still had braking capabilities.

At Kristin's house, the four girls hung out awkwardly in the foyer before heading down to her basement. It was huge, with multiple rooms. Kristin led them into her dad's music room, with guitars and video games every. They lay down on the ground and continued their conversation. Lily still couldn't have told anyone what was said, but she was happy.

As the boys had said they would, they arrived around 9:30. The girls could hear them coming down the stairs, and calling for them. "We're in-" Lily started to call, but Kristin gestured for her to cut off and led them into a hidden closet. Inside, Keith called Kristin's phone. Lily's eyes widened as Kristin quickly pressed the Reject Call button. They knew the boys came into the room, and Keith walked up and stared through a crack in the door. Lily, who was placed in front, could only see his eye. It was weird. Then she heard Kristin walking away and turned. There was another exit. Bailey and Mary quickly followed suit, with Lily on their heals. They came out into the basement hall, and walked into the room. Roberto was kind of mad, but got over it quickly.

"Let's do something," Kristin said. "I know- I have a good board game." She went back into the closet, and came back out with the Sinking of the Titanic. There were only four players, so they split up. Kristin and Lily fended for themselves, while Roberto and Keith, and Bailey and Mary paired up.

The object of the game was to collect passengers, food, and water and get to shore in a lifeboat before the ship sank. Every time a 1 or 6 was rolled, the ship, which was mounted on a spinner, would sink into the water. It made it very hard to get everything.

They all made it onto lifeboats fairly quickly, but Lily was the only one who managed to get all her supplies. "The ship has to be completely sunken before you can land and win," Kristin explained to Lily when she was only spaces away from winning.

"That's a rip-off," she said, but was content to move her boat in circles while waiting for 1's and 6's. It was actually pretty entertaining to watch the others pull chance cards to try and get their supplies. Sometimes they got things, but sometimes they lost stuff instead.

"Can you have negative water?" Keith asked after pulling his third consecutive "lose two water" card. Kristin laughed and shook her head.

"You keep drawing all the crappy cards," said Roberto, who was more watching than participating. "Can't we just say Lily won? All we're doing is waiting while she moves in circles."

"No way!" Mary protested.

"Yeah," Bailey agreed. "This is too much fun. Look, we're setting up our passengers in a love triangle." The point of the game was lost on them. After another half hour, Lily finally managed to sink the ship with a 6, and moved her piece on land. She won, but by then, no one cared who the winner was. They were having too much fun.

"Well," Roberto finally said. "It's 10:40. We should probably go before 11." Lily sighed. Roberto was the only one who was a legal adult, so everyone else had to be home by 11 or risk breaking town curfew. "I'll take you, Lily." They said good bye one more time in the basement, then went outside. Kristin waved from her driveway. Mary and Bailey got into their car. Keith caught up with Roberto.

"It's dark," he said. "I'm never going to be able to find my way home in the dark. Can I follow you?" Roberto nodded, but told Keith he was taking Lily home first. Keith shrugged. "I've been to her house before."

In Roberto's car, Lily buckled in. "Has Bailey left yet?" he asked. Lily looked back, leaning up to see over the seat back. She shook her head, and Roberto pushed the gas. She had to catch her balance to sit back down. "Sorry. Just had to win one more competitive moment. So, where do you live?" Lily gave him a general description of the area, and he nodded.

"Oh, yeah, I know where you live," he said. Lily regarded him curiously. "That's kind of creepy," she said honestly. First he watched her in her practice room. Now he knew where she lived too.

"I didn't mean it that way!" he protested. "I just know where that area is. I know a lot of people there. You're going to have to help me find your house." All this time, Keith followed them with his windows down, playing bad music. The next morning, Lily's mom told her she had heard it when Keith followed Roberto into the driveway.

"Bye, Roberto!" Lily said when he had found her house. "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem," he said back. "And Lily?" She had been walking up to her house, but turned back. "Keep practicing."

"I will," she guaranteed him, grinning her trademark smile. "Just wait till next year."

* * *

AN: So, that's it! It's taken me a while, but I finally finished Lily's freshman year. As Band Staff, marching, and auditions get more demanding, I won't be able to update. I'm planning on making Lily's sophomore year, but not until next summer probably (when I get a break). I'm thinking about calling it "Triple L", so watch for it next June! As always, review please! I would love suggestions.


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